frugal

fru·gal

adj \ˈfrü-gəl\

Definition of FRUGAL

: characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources

— fru·gal·i·ty \frü-ˈga-lə-tē\ noun

— fru·gal·ly \ˈfrü-gə-lē\ adverb

Examples of FRUGAL

1. a frugal meal of bread and cheese
2. <by being frugal, the family is able to stretch its monthly budget>
3. His meals are the frugal fare of the poor: tea, bread, yogurt, a bit of cheese, vegetables. —Johanna McGeary, Time , 25 Oct. 2004
4. Like frugal cooks everywhere, Cajun cooks from generations past found plenty of ways to use every part of the animals they raised. —Jeremy Sauer, Cook's Country, June 1995
5. In a frugal white frame house of tiny rooms that shook with every passing freight train, five boys of German immigrant background had grown up at the turn of the twentieth century. —Robert D. Kaplan, An Empire Wilderness, 1988

Origin of FRUGAL

Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin frugalis virtuous, frugal, from frug-, frux fruit, value; akin to Latin frui to enjoy

First Known Use: 1590

Related to FRUGAL

Synonyms: economical, economizing, provident, scrimping, sparing, thrifty

Antonyms: prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, squandering, thriftless, unthrifty, wasteful

Related Words: conserving, preserving, saving; forehanded, foresighted, foresightful, prudent; penny-wise; cheap, close, closefisted, mean, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, spare, stingy, stinting, tight, tightfisted

Near Antonyms: improvident, shortsighted; bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unselfish, unsparing; extravagant, indulgent, lavish

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See Synonym Discussion at sparing

Rhymes with FRUGAL

Brueghel, bugle, fugal, kugel