sparse
gb/spˈɑɹs/ us/spˈɑɹs/
B2
English
~ 11100
Senses
0 senses
adjective
B2
property
1
Not dense; widely scattered
Having only a few things in a big space, so they are not close together.
Usage pattern:
sparse [noun]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use 'sparse' when they only mean 'small'. 'Sparse' usually means that there are not many things and they are spread out over space. For example, a 'small room' is not 'sparse', but a 'sparse forest' has few trees that are far apart.
Synonyms
thin (Suggests something that is not thick or full, often used for hair, crowds, or vegetation; slightly more general than 'sparse'.)
|
scattered (Emphasizes being spread out in different places, without the idea of a regular pattern.)
Antonyms
dense (Describes many things close together in a small area, the opposite of widely spread out.)
|
thick (Suggests a large number or amount in a small space, often used for hair, forests, or crowds.)
Collocations
sparse population
|sparse vegetation
|sparse forest
|sparse hair
|sparse traffic
|sparse landscape
Themes
description
|nature
|society
|space
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The trees became sparse as we climbed higher up the mountain.
- In this part of the desert, vegetation is extremely sparse.
- His sparse hair was combed carefully across his head.
- Housing is sparse in the northern region, with long distances between villages.
- Streetlights were sparse, so the road was almost completely dark at night.
Learner examples
- The grass is sparse on the dry hill.
- There are only a few sparse houses along this road.
- Her hair is sparse on the top of her head.
- Trees are sparse near the top of the mountain.
- Shops are sparse in this small town.
adjective
B2
property
2
Small in amount or number
Very little in amount or number; not enough of something.
Usage pattern:
sparse [noun]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'sparse' with 'rare'. 'Sparse' usually describes quantity (there is not much of something) or distribution, while 'rare' often describes how often something happens. For example, 'sparse information' is correct, but we usually say 'rare events', not 'sparse events'.
Synonyms
scarce (Focuses more on not having enough of something, especially something needed or wanted.)
|
meager (Suggests an amount that is very small and often disappointing or poor in quality.)
Antonyms
plentiful (Describes something that exists in large quantities, the opposite of a small or insufficient amount.)
|
abundant (Emphasizes having more than enough of something.)
Collocations
sparse attendance
|sparse evidence
|sparse details
|sparse data
|sparse information
|sparse resources
Themes
description
|work
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Attendance at the early morning meeting was sparse.
- The report was criticized for its sparse details.
- Funding for the project has been sparse this year.
- Information about the new policy remains sparse and unclear.
- Online reviews of the product are surprisingly sparse.
Learner examples
- The class had sparse attendance on Friday.
- The article gives only sparse information about the problem.
- Our budget is sparse, so we must be careful with money.
- The teacher was unhappy because questions from students were sparse.
- Details about his life before 2000 are sparse.
adjective
technical
C1
property
3
Having mostly zero or empty values
Used in math and computers for a matrix or list where most of the values are zero or empty.
Usage pattern:
sparse [noun]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think 'sparse' in technical texts only means 'small'. In computing and math, it specifically means that most positions in a structure are zero or empty, not just that there is a small amount of data overall.
Synonyms
sparse-structured (Less common variant that also emphasizes the structure with many zeros or empty entries.)
Antonyms
dense (In technical contexts, describes a matrix or data structure where most elements are non-zero or filled.)
Collocations
sparse matrix
|sparse vector
|sparse array
|sparse representation
|sparse dataset
|sparse encoding
Themes
technology
|mathematics
|data_science
|science
Examples
- Using a sparse matrix can significantly reduce memory usage for this problem.
- The algorithm is optimized for sparse data and performs poorly on dense datasets.
- We store the graph as a sparse adjacency matrix to save space.
Learner examples
- In this program, we use a sparse matrix to save memory.
- The data is very sparse, so most values are zero.
- Sparse vectors are common in machine learning models.
- A sparse array keeps only the non-zero values.
- This library has special tools for working with sparse data.
Grammar
Dictionary form
sparse
IPA
GB/spˈɑɹs/
US/spˈɑɹs/
Syllables & stress
sparse (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (sparse)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: sparse
- Comparative: sparser
- Superlative: sparsest
Word family
Forms
sparser
adjective
sparsest
adjective
Core family
sparsely
adverb
Negative and opposite forms
dense
adjective B1
Advanced or less common
sparsity
noun
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.