Given to or marked by prudence and restraint in the use of material resources. 
an economical meal / an economical shopper / a frugal farmer / a frugal lunch / a sparing father and a spending son / sparing in their use of heat and light / stinting in bestowing gifts / thrifty because they remember the great Depression / 'scotch' is used only informally. Synonym Discussion of SPARING. sparing, frugal, thrifty, economical mean careful in the use of one's money or resources. sparing stresses abstention and restraint. frugal implies absence of luxury and simplicity of lifestyle. thrifty stresses good management and industry. spar·ing. adj. 1. Given to or marked by prudence and restraint in the use of material resources. 2. Deficient or limited in quantity, fullness, or extent: sparing amounts of criticism. spar′ing·ly adv. : not using or giving a lot of something. an artist who is sparing in her use of color [=who does not use much color]. He has been sparing with details about his personal life. [=he has not talked much about his personal life]. [+] more examples [-] hide examples [+] Example sentences [-] Hide examples.
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meaning of sparing