Definition of frugal
: characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources
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Examples of frugal in a Sentence
- His meals are the frugal fare of the poor: tea, bread, yogurt, a bit of cheese, vegetables. —Johanna McGeary, Time, 25 Oct. 2004
- 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
- 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
a frugal meal of bread and cheese
by being frugal, the family is able to stretch its monthly budget
Recent Examples of frugal from the Web
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For the Romanov family at the Ipatiev House, Tuesday July 16 in Ekaterinburg was much like any other day, punctuated by the same frugal meals, brief periods of recreation in the garden, reading and games of cards.
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Sanders hasn’t been particularly frugal with his endorsements.
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Sanford has proven to be a talented campaigner, despite being notoriously frugal.
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However, it is believed the fee Chelsea would want for him would be too much for the notoriously frugal Newcastle, meaning manager Rafa Benitez must now move on and assess other potential targets.
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Johnson has shared previously on Twitter about his frugal ways and also Tweeted Thursday that he's been wearing the same outfit for nine consecutive days.
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The frugal secretary, who died in 2016, quietly amassed a fortune of more than $9 million through a string of savvy investments, according to The New York Times.
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Is that a frugal no-brainer or a timid, job-generating throwback?
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Should Loftus-Cheek carry his impressive domestic form over to the World Cup this summer, his value could sky rocket, something that will worry Newcastle fans who are well aware of owner Mike Ashley's tendency to be frugal in the transfer market.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'frugal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
frugal Has Surprising Roots
Those who are frugal are unwilling to (lavishly) enjoy the fruits of their labors, so it may surprise you to learn that frugal ultimately derives from the Latin frux, meaning "fruit" or "value," and is even a distant cousin of the Latin word for "enjoy" (frui). The connection between fruit/value and restraint was first made in Latin; the Middle French word that English speakers eventually adopted as frugal came from the Latin adjective frugalis, a frux descendant meaning "virtuous" or "frugal." Although English speakers adopted frugal by the late 16th century, they were already lavishly supplied with earlier coinages to denote the idea, including sparing and thrifty.
Origin and Etymology of frugal
Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin frugalis virtuous, frugal, from frug-, frux fruit, value; akin to Latin frui to enjoy
frugal Synonyms
Synonyms
economical, economizing, provident, scrimping, sparing, thrifty;
Antonyms
prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, squandering, thriftless, unthrifty, wasteful;
Near Antonyms
bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unselfish, unsparing;
Related Words
conserving, preserving, saving;
forehanded, foresighted, foresightful, prudent;
cheap, close, closefisted, mean, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, spare, stingy, stinting, tight, tightfisted;
Synonym Discussion of frugal
sparing, frugal, thrifty, economical mean careful in the use of one's money or resources. sparing stresses abstention and restraint.
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- sparing in the offering of advice
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- ran a frugal household
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- thrifty use of nonrenewable resources
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- an economical health-care plan
FRUGAL Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of frugal for English Language Learners
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: careful about spending money or using things when you do not need to : using money or supplies in a very careful way
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: simple and plain
FRUGAL Defined for Kids
Definition of frugal for Students
1
: careful in spending or using supplies
2
: simple and without unnecessary things
- a frugal meal
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frugally
adverbLearn More about frugal
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for frugal Spanish Central: Translation of frugal Nglish: Translation of frugal for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of frugal for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
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