sparse.

Present in small amounts or scattered widely apart.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• sparse vegetation
• sparse population

On the page

Sparse vegetation left the red soil exposed.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting / environment. Forms: Comparative more sparse; superlative most sparse when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: setting, description. Commonness: moderately common.