sparing
/ˈspɛəɹɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
sparing is spelled S-P-A-R-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sparing means “Prudent and restrained in the use of resources; careful, economical or frugal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sparing?
| Letters | 7: S-P-A-R-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,556th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sparing?
Sparing appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sparing?
- /ˈspɛəɹɪŋ/
Sparing has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sparing.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sparing?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as sparing.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: parsing, rasping.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sparing
- more sparing comparative
- most sparing superlative
- sparings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sparing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Prudent and restrained in the use of resources; careful, economical or frugal.
noun
- 1
The act by which something or someone is spared.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of spare
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sparing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense prudent and restrained in the use of resources:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.