sparsely

sparsely — adverb

1. in a way that describes an area or surface where people, objects, or living thin

1.副詞B2
釋義

in a way that describes an area or surface where people, objects, or living things exist in very small numbers, with a lot of empty space between them

例句

The northern region of the country is sparsely populated, with vast forests between the towns.

collocation: sparsely populated

Andrés's apartment was sparsely furnished with only a mattress and a wooden chair.

collocation: sparsely furnished

同義詞
  • thinly

    more common in everyday speech; 'thinly spread' is interchangeable with 'sparsely distributed'

  • scantily

    more formal and often used for clothing or resources rather than population

  • lightly

    implies a moderate degree rather than extreme scarcity; less emphatic than 'sparsely'

反義詞
  • densely

    the direct opposite; 'densely populated' vs 'sparsely populated'

  • thickly

    used for vegetation, crowds, or layers

文法句型

sparsely + past participle (populated, furnished, attended)

sparsely + adjective (vegetated, wooded)

用法筆記

Most often used with past participles such as 'populated', 'furnished', 'attended', 'decorated', 'vegetated', and 'wooded'. It is not used with action verbs in the progressive (✗ 'he was sparsely eating').

常見錯誤

❌The room was sparsely enough for two people.
✅The room was sparsely furnished enough for two people.
💡'sparsely' must modify an adjective or past participle, not stand alone as a predicate.
❌People sparsely live in the desert.
✅The desert is sparsely populated.
💡'sparsely' is not used directly with action verbs; use 'sparsely populated' instead.