Definition of frugal
:characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources
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frugal was our Word of the Day on 06/05/2015. Hear the podcast!
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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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Leaders of the most frugal districts have long complained that they were essentially punished over time with lower revenue limits than districts that were spending more in 1993 and given higher revenue limits.
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RENEWED COMMITMENT For years, the athletic department and the university looked for ways to avoid stepping up and investing in the football program, opting for a more frugal approach – from coaching salaries to support personnel.
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Some municipal leaders saw it as a sign that cities and towns that had been frugal would be penalized by greater cuts in state education aid.
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Despite ratings that are similar to the Volvo, the XC90 fared much better on our 200-mile highway test, while the frugal Acura MDX topped them both.
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Consumers often keep things without sentimental value out of a desire to be frugal.
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This is an easy option for patient and frugal shoppers.
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Individuals can use the same $100 to buy drugs, feed a frugal family for a week, buy a designer scarf or give it to God in an offering plate.
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Or maybe one spouse is frugal, while the other’s a spendthrift.
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 early 17th 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, thriftyAntonyms
prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, squandering, thriftless, unthrifty, wastefulRelated 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, tightfistedNear Antonyms
improvident, shortsighted; bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unselfish, unsparing; extravagant, indulgent, lavishSynonym 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
frugal
play
adjective
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
frugal
play
adjective
fru·gal
\
ˈfrü-gəl
\
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
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