parsimonious

par·si·mo·ni·ous

adjective \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

See Synonym Discussion at stingy

Rhymes with PARSIMONIOUS

acrimonious, Apollonius, ceremonious, disharmonious, inharmonious, sanctimonious