Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Given to or marked by prudence and restraint in the use of material resources.
- adjective Deficient or limited in quantity, fullness, or extent.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Parsimony.
- noun plural That which is saved by frugality or economy; savings.
- noun The state of being spared from harm or death.
- Inclined to spare or save; economical; frugal; chary; grudging.
- Of a spare amount, quantity, or extent; not abundant or lavish; limited; scanty; restrained: as, a sparing diet; sparing applause.
- Inclined to spare from harm or hardship; not oppressive; forbearing.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Spare; saving; frugal; merciful.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
prudent andrestrained in the use ofresources ;careful ,economical orfrugal - verb Present participle of
spare .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective avoiding waste
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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On September 26, 1946, she and George carried out the charade of their second nuptials—even taking themselves downtown to the New York Municipal Building and obtaining another license—all in the name of sparing her parents “the pain” of their secret elopement.
A Covert Affair Jennet Conant 2011
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Many patients are over 40% weight loss, with no surgery, and many with surgery, or post protein sparing diets.
Dr. Sharma’s Obesity Notes » Blog Archive » Surgical vs. Non-Surgical Weight-Loss Maintenance 2009
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On September 26, 1946, she and George carried out the charade of their second nuptials—even taking themselves downtown to the New York Municipal Building and obtaining another license—all in the name of sparing her parents “the pain” of their secret elopement.
A Covert Affair Jennet Conant 2011
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Today it is the privilege of this joint meeting of The Empire Club of Canada and The Canadian Club to welcome him and to express to him our very sincere appreciation of his kindness in sparing time to come and talk to us.
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My dear John - Thanks for your kind attention in sparing me as much as possible all alarm and anxiety.
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Eugenia strictly obeyed: in sparing Lionel she spared also her father, whom his highly unfeeling behaviour with regard to Sir Sedley would yet further have incensed and grieved; and, in doing justice to Edgar, she flattered herself she prevented an alienation from one yet destined to be nearly allied to him, since time, she still hoped, would effect the reconciliation of Camilla with the youth whom – next to Melmond – she thought the most amiable upon earth.
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Roth: Children are entirely more open and receptive to the idea of sparing the lives of animals.
Christine Escobar: Talking With Ruby Roth, Vegan Children's Book Author 2009
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But he would not listen to the idea of sparing anybody; he declared he must and would bring the case to court at once, for, he said, your brother was a drunkard and a debt-contractor.
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There is no reason to suppose that the idea of sparing him was ever entertained; but, wherever the blame lay, he was led to believe that a recantation might save him; and he did now at last break down utterly, and recant in the most abject terms.
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Don't be afraid of saying what you really think, "he added scornfully," with the notion of sparing me.
Questionable Shapes William Dean Howells 1878
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Land sparing involves lumping habitat patches together into larger blocks, alongside the adoption of lower-impact ways to boost yields in the areas that are still farmed.
Current conservation policies risk accelerating biodiversity loss Ian Bateman 2023
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