parsimonious

par·si·mo·ni·ous

adj \ˌpär-sə-ˈmō-nē-əs\

Definition of PARSIMONIOUS

1

: exhibiting or marked by parsimony; especially : frugal to the point of stinginess

2

: sparing, restrained

— par·si·mo·ni·ous·ly adverb

Examples of PARSIMONIOUS

1. <a parsimonious woman who insists that charity begins—and ends—at home>
2. A society that is parsimonious in its personal charity (in terms of both time and money) will require more government welfare. —William J. Bennett, The Death of Outrage, 1998
3. Their merchant princes were supposed to be parsimonious and austere: fustian in apparel and coarse in diet. —Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, 1988
4. With saints, Dante is apathetic. They are written with a dry pen, and parsimonious vision. —Robert Lowell, Collected Prose, 1987

Origin of PARSIMONIOUS

(see parsimony)

First Known Use: 1598

Related to PARSIMONIOUS

Synonyms: cheap, chintzy, close, closefisted, mean, mingy, miserly, niggard, niggardly, stingy, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, pinchpenny, spare, sparing, stinting, tight, tightfisted, uncharitable, ungenerous

Antonyms: bounteous, bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unsparing, unstinting

Related Words: careful, chary, conserving, economical, economizing, frugal, saving, scrimping, skimping, thrifty; acquisitive, avaricious, avid, coveting, covetous, desirous, grasping, greedy, hoggish, itchy, mercenary, rapacious, selfish, shabby, small, sordid; begrudging, envious, grudging, resentful; inhospitable

Near Antonyms: altruistic, selfless, unselfish; extravagant, free, handsome, lavish, overgenerous, profuse; beneficent, benevolent, hospitable, humanitarian, philanthropic (also philanthropical); compassionate, good-hearted, greathearted, kindly, magnanimous, openhearted; thriftless, unthrifty; dissipating, frittering, prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, splurging, squandering, wasteful, wasting

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See Synonym Discussion at stingy

Rhymes with PARSIMONIOUS

acrimonious, Apollonius, ceremonious, disharmonious, inharmonious, sanctimonious