sparingly

adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sparingly" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sparingly” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,381. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,381
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In a sparing manner; with frugality, moderation, scantiness, reserve, forbearance, or the like; sparsely.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sparingly · sparingly · English

sparingly · rank #28,381 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #28,381
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Southport

Nearest frequency peer: Southport (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sparingly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sparingly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sparingly vs sparing
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sparingly
PropertyValue
Headwordsparingly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters9
Frequency rank#28,381
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sparingly”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sparinglylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Southport” (#28,380), “speck” (#28,382), “Soto” (#28,379). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sparingly” is #28,381. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around sparingly, anadverb. Corpus frequency is #28,381 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "In a sparing manner; with frugality, moderation, scantiness, reserve, forbearance, or the like; sparsely.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for sparingly, with forms such as "psaringly", "sapringly", and "spairngly". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "sparing", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sparing + -ly. The correct English form is sparingly, spelled S-P-A-R-I-N-G-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a sparing manner; with frugality, moderation, scantiness, reserve, forbearance, or the like; sparsely.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how sparingly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The Mark Tree is generally used as an effect to accentuate transitions in music, either at the beginning or end of a phrase. When used sparingly, they ^([sic]) can add an exotic "shimmer" effect.

Etymology

From sparing + -ly.

This word in other languages

moderadamente(Español)parcimonieusement(Français)moderadamente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psaringly
  • sapringly
  • spairngly
  • sparignly
  • sparinggly
  • sparinglly
  • sparinglyy
  • sparingyl
  • sparinlgy
  • sparinngly
  • sparnigly
  • sparringly
  • spparingly
  • spraingly
  • ssparingly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sparingly - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

psaringly2sapringly2spairngly2sparignly2sparinggly1sparinglly1sparinglyy1sparingyl2
Edit distance from "sparingly"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sparingly"?
"sparingly" is spelled S-P-A-R-I-N-G-L-Y.
What does "sparingly" mean?
As an adverb, "sparingly" means: In a sparing manner; with frugality, moderation, scantiness, reserve, forbearance, or the like; sparsely.
What words are commonly confused with "sparingly"?
"sparingly" is commonly confused with "sparing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "sparingly"?
From sparing + -ly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sparingly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Southport#28,380sumptuous#28,394shortfall#28,365shoemaker#28,364

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

successively15 variantsambivalent15 variantsBabylonian15 variantsmethodical15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list