stingy

adjective

stin·​gy ˈstin-jē 

stingier; stingiest

1

: not generous or liberal : sparing or scant in using, giving, or spending

a stingy old miser

stingy with the salt

stingy employee benefits

2

: meanly scanty or small

served up stingy portions

stingily

ˈstin-jə-lē 

adverb

stinginess

ˈstin-jē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of stingy

• miserly
• selfish
• greedy
• tightfisted
• parsimonious
• tight
• ungenerous
• cheap
• close
• pinching
• penurious
• mean
• chintzy
• careful
• uncharitable
• desirous

Choose the Right Synonym for stingy

stingy, close, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, miserly mean being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others.

stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.

folks who are very close when charity calls

niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

Examples of stingy in a Sentence

The company was too stingy to raise salaries.

until his redemption, Ebenezer Scrooge is the classic example of a very stingy, heartless miser

Recent Examples on the Web

All that space was just there, and my father genuinely did not understand why the rest of the world was so stingy with him. —Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026

Harvey will struggle to find his footing against New England’s stingy run defense. —Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026

The Texans became a dark horse Super Bowl candidate and won their wild card-round postseason game last week because of their remarkably stingy defense. —Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Jan. 2026

Part is because of their defense, which has been among the nation's stingiest all season. —Arkansas Online, 19 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from English dialect *stinge, noun, sting; akin to Old English stingan to sting

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stingy

• dingy

Kids Definition

stingy

adjective

stin·​gy ˈstin-jē 

stingier; stingiest

1

: not generous : giving, using, or spending as little as possible

2

: scanty, meager

a stingy portion

stingily

-jə-lē 

adverb

stinginess

-jē-nəs 

noun