EN

Synonyms for spare

  • adjective
  • verb

Most common

lean poor scanty bare extra superfluous plain

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Lean — not plentiful. Lean; lacking flesh; meager; thin; gaunt

lean, meager US CA, meagre UK, poor, scanty, bare, thin, scant, frugal, stingy, narrow, slim, parsimonious, slender, haggard, skinny, gaunt, lank, scraggy, chary, scrimpy

2. Extra — extra. Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used…

extra, superfluous, redundant, supernumerary, excess, surplus, unnecessary, unneeded, supererogatory

3. Plain

plain, unadorned, unembellished, unornamented

Other

free, unoccupied, trim

Verb

1. Dispense with — (to give up), To deprive oneself of, as by being frugal; to do without; to dispense with; to give up; to part…

part with, give up, give, dispense with, afford, do without, allow

2. Withhold

withhold, refrain, forbear

Other

save, keep from, have mercy, lay aside, reserve, backup, preserve

Antonyms

ample, generous, fat

All antonyms of spare →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Extra. Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous.

  2. adj. 2

    Not plentiful. Lean; lacking flesh; meager; thin; gaunt.

  3. v. 1

    (to give up): To deprive oneself of, as by being frugal; to do without; to dispense with; to give up; to part with.

    Where angry Jove did never spare / One breath of kind and temperate air.

  4. v. 2

    To show mercy, to have mercy on. To desist; to stop; to refrain.

Related words

Word family
spanger spareness spareful
Phrases
spare tire spare time spare change spare tyre spare wheel spare part spare room spare tool

Forms

Past participle
spared
e.g. spared → given, afforded, allowed, refrained…

Example sentences

  • bare I saw my uncle kill a scorpion with his bare hand.
  • scant Your message was scant on details.
  • scraggy The eagle landed on a scraggy tree.
  • chary He is chary of offending people.
  • extra I'm trying to find a green sweater in extra large.
  • surplus Thanks to exports, the trade surplus is maintained.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
sparesteady
barerising
scantrising
scraggyrising
charyfalling
extrasteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters
give1, free1, poor1, save1, thin1, bare1, lean1, slim1, trim1, lank1
5 letters
extra2, allow2, plain1, scant1, gaunt1, chary2
6 letters
afford2, narrow2, excess2, backup2, skinny2, frugal2, meager2, stingy2, meagre, scanty2
7 letters
reserve2, surplus2, slender2, refrain2, haggard2, forbear, scraggy, scrimpy
8 letters
preserve2, withhold2, unneeded3
9 letters
redundant3, unadorned3
10 letters
unoccupied4
11 letters
unnecessary5, superfluous3
12 letters
parsimonious5, unornamented
13 letters
supernumerary, unembellished
14 letters
supererogatory

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (extra2 = 2 syllables).