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GRE vocabulary

sparse

adjectiveCommon GRE wordMore S words

thinly distributed or scant in quantity

Word origin: From Latin sparsus, past participle of spargere, to scatter.

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In a sentence

Sparse in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing sparse in a sentence.

Vegetation was sparse on the windswept plateau.

The professor's notes were so sparse that students relied almost entirely on their own readings.

Synonyms
scantymeagerscattered
Antonyms
denseabundant

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Verbal · Sentence Equivalence

The naturalist warned that the alpine bloom was blank, a spectacle of color that would vanish within days of the thaw, leaving no trace by midsummer.

Select the two answers that give the sentence the same meaning. 0 of 2 selected.

Usage & nuance

Using “sparse” well

Sparse describes something thinly distributed, present in small or scattered amounts. It is close to scant and meager but stresses the spacing of items more than their insufficiency.

Keep going

More GRE words starting with S

sabotage

to deliberately damage or obstruct something, especially in secret

saccharin

an intensely sweet, calorie-free artificial sweetener

saccharine

excessively sweet or sentimental in a cloying way

sacrosanct

regarded as too important or sacred to be altered or criticized

sagacious

having keen practical judgment and discernment

sagacity

soundness of judgment and acuteness of discernment

salient

most noticeable or important; standing out prominently

sallow

of a sickly yellowish or pale complexion

Common questions

Questions about “sparse”

Sparse (adjective) means thinly distributed or scant in quantity
Here is sparse used in an example sentence: "Vegetation was sparse on the windswept plateau." Another example: "The professor's notes were so sparse that students relied almost entirely on their own readings."
Common synonyms for sparse include scanty, meager, scattered.
Antonyms of sparse include dense, abundant.
Pair sparse with scant, meager, and thin in Sentence Equivalence, opposing dense, abundant, copious, and plentiful.
Sparse is a GRE-level vocabulary word worth knowing for the Verbal section.

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