thinly

comparative more thinly · superlative most thinly

1. In a thin, loose, or scattered manner; scantily; not thickly.

   The surroundings become bleak in the extreme as the timber line is approached and trees give place to thinly scattered birches that are little more than bushes.

   1957 August 28, H. A. Vallance, “By Rail to the Norwegian Arctic”, in Railway Magazine, page 574

   2 more examples

   Brüno was a case of diminishing returns, intermittently amusing but not nearly as bracing or funny as Borat—it didn’t help that Brüno was the most thinly conceived of all his Da Ali G Show characters—and the lead-up to Baron Cohen’s new comedy, The Dictator, made it look like he’d boxed himself into a corner.

   2012 May 15, Scott Tobias, “Film: Reviews: The Dictator”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 11 Jul 2012

   “The Budget proposes eliminating Supporting Effective Instruction (SEI) State Grants (Title II State grants), a program that provides formula funds to States to improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other schools leaders. SEI grants are poorly targeted and funds are spread too thinly to have a meaningful impact on student outcomes.

   2017 May 23, Gregory Krieg, Will Mullery, “Trump’s budget by the numbers: What gets cut and why”, in CNN, archived from the original on 16 Apr 2021

2. Barely; hardly; with little attempt to conceal.

   a thinly-veiled attack on my integrity

   1 more example

   a thinly disguised attempt at sabotage