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sparse

/spɑːrs//spɑːs/·adjective
thinly scattered or present in small amounts; few and far between
Fig. 1 — A car park is marked out in neat bays, row after row, with room for dozens.
01Definition

Sparse describes things thinly spread — few in number and far apart, with more empty space than substance between them. From the Latin sparsus, 'scattered,' it is the opposite of dense: sparse hair, a sparse crowd, sparse vegetation on a dry plain. It can also describe information or detail that is meagre, as in 'the evidence was sparse.' The word draws attention to the gaps as much as to the things; what is sparse is defined by how much of it is missing.

02In use
  • iOnly a few hardy shrubs grew on the sparse, wind-scoured slope.
  • iiThe conclusions rested on data so sparse that a careful reviewer could refute them outright.
  • iiiTraffic was sparse at dawn, the wide road almost empty.
03Collocations
  • sparse vegetation
  • sparse data
  • sparsely populated
  • a sparse crowd
  • sparse detail

Family sparsely (adverb) · sparseness (noun) · sparsity (noun)

04Relations

=scattered, thin, scanty, meagre, scarce

≠dense, abundant, crowded

05Compared
PairThe difference
sparse vs scarcetoo little for the demand — competition over supply → scarce; thinly spread, far apart — gaps between occurrences → sparse.
06TOEFL & IELTS

Precise academic vocabulary for distribution and quantity — 'sparsely populated regions' is almost a set phrase in IELTS geography and TOEFL ecology texts. Use it for data, vegetation, population, detail. The adverb sparsely is especially natural before populated / distributed. Don't confuse sparse (thinly spread) with scarce (in short supply): a thing can be widely available yet sparse in any one place.

07Asked
What does sparse mean?
Thinly spread — few things with a lot of empty space between them. Sparse hair, a sparse crowd, sparse vegetation, sparse detail: in each the gaps are as much the point as the things. It is the opposite of dense, and it works for anything distributed across space or a page. The scene above is sparse exactly: a car park of many bays with only a handful of cars, each an island in unused space.
What is the difference between sparse and scarce?
Sparse is about spacing; scarce is about supply against demand. Trees are sparse on a moor — thinly spread over the ground. Water is scarce in a drought — there is not enough for the need. A thing can be sparse in one place yet not scarce overall: shops are sparse in the countryside, but shops are not scarce. Sparse describes the distribution; scarce describes the shortage.
What does 'sparsely populated' mean?
Having few people spread thinly over a large area — the standard phrase for wildernesses, deserts and remote regions, and almost a set expression in geography writing. The adverb sparsely lives most naturally before populated and distributed. Its opposite, densely populated, marks the crowded end; between them they are the two poles of every population-density map.
What are good synonyms for sparse?
By shade of meaning: scattered and thin catch the spread-out sense; scanty and meagre catch the not-enough sense (scanty evidence, a meagre crop); sporadic adds irregularity over time. Reach for sparse itself when the point is thin distribution across space or a page — it is the most neutral and academic of the group, and the one examiners read as precise rather than casual.