sparely
sparely — adverb
1. with very little detail or decoration; in a simple, almost bare way
with very little detail or decoration; in a simple, almost bare way
Sumin furnished her apartment sparely, with only a bed and a desk.
collocation: furnished sparely
The room was sparely decorated — white walls and a single wooden chair.
Mateo writes sparely — his emails are never more than three lines long.
The stage was set sparely for the play, with just three stools and a lamp.
Amani's incident report was sparely worded — three short paragraphs — but covered every key detail.
- ornately
with lots of decoration
- elaborately
with many complex details
用法筆記
Typically describes how something is written, decorated, or arranged. Do not confuse with 'sparingly', which means using only a small amount of something (e.g. 'eat sparingly').
常見錯誤
2. with a tall, lean build; having little flesh on a long frame
with a tall, lean build; having little flesh on a long frame
Lotte was built sparely — tall and narrow, with long arms and legs.
collocation: built sparely
The greyhound was sparely built — all bone and muscle — yet it shot across the track in seconds.
collocation: sparely built
The stray cat was sparely formed, with a long narrow body and surprisingly long legs.
The old carpenter was sparely built, with wrists like twigs, but his grip could still crush a walnut.
Rohan was sparely built, and when he stood in the doorway his tall shadow stretched across the wooden floor.
用法筆記
Always used to describe a person's or animal's body. The subject is nearly always a living being.