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"thinly" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often sparsely (8 letters).
Definitions
in a widely distributed manner
Word origin
From Middle English þynnelich (“with thin material; thinly”); equivalent to thin + -ly.
Used in a sentence
“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.”
“a thinly-veiled attack on my integrity”
“a thinly disguised attempt at sabotage”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Sparsely”6 letters
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