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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective stingy contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of stingy are close, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, and penurious. While all these words mean "being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others," stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

When could close be used to replace stingy?

The words close and stingy can be used in similar contexts, but close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.

folks who are very close when charity calls

When might miserly be a better fit than stingy?

The words miserly and stingy are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

When is niggardly a more appropriate choice than stingy?

In some situations, the words niggardly and stingy are roughly equivalent. However, niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

When would parsimonious be a good substitute for stingy?

While the synonyms parsimonious and stingy are close in meaning, parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

Where would penurious be a reasonable alternative to stingy?

While in some cases nearly identical to stingy, penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stingy What Maryland did have was one of the stingiest defenses in the country, a unit that ranked second in the country in fewest goals allowed per game at 7.8. Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 26 May 2025 The Lynx remain the class of the Western Conference with a 19-4 record, owning both the second-best offense (84.9 points per game) and the league's stingiest defense (allowing just 75.3 points per game). Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 July 2025 However, the Switch 2 upgrade path has proven to be quite stingy. PC Magazine, 6 July 2025 His plan has been driven by the Office of Management and Budget, which has become extremely stingy with new regulations, according to Crews, the Fred L. Smith fellow in regulatory studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and our go-to for accurate counts on new regulations. Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for stingy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stingy
Adjective
  • McKim, Mead & White quickly became the place for aspiring young architects, who avidly sought jobs there despite miserly salaries.
    Henry Wiencek July 22, Literary Hub, 22 July 2025
  • The miserly email account offerings are particularly limiting for larger ventures, and unusual for the category which typically offers unlimited email.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 16 June 2025
Adjective
  • The Wild West was known for its absence of centralized authority, where law enforcement was sparse and rules were often made or broken on the spot.
    Jim Martin, Denver Post, 3 Aug. 2025
  • But since winning the Super Bowl in the 1995 season, success has been sparse.
    Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2025
Adjective
  • The United States seems to be the only major nation that’s in the grip of such mercenary and selfish dogma.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Each declaration chips away at the outdated beliefs that wealth is unladylike or selfish.
    Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Aid trucks stopped coming and ingredients that had once been scarce became almost impossible to find.
    Hamada Shaqoura, Time, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Those casks are scarce too, but by contrast to the 1993/1994 Ardbeg parcel, they could almost be called common.
    Mark Littler, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Though one is a human innovation and the other hails from a distant world, neither would’ve posed a danger had greedy tech barons not released them from the Pandora’s box of scientific progress.
    Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
  • O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i and the big island of Hawai’i were all joined by water but divided by greedy men, cunning chiefs and a cycle of endless combat.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • This implies a poor Debt-to-Equity Ratio of 52.5% (vs. 19.4% for S&P 500).
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
  • The general manager, making a rare road trip, told reporters that his presence had more to do with his scheduling availability than the Yankees’ third-place standing or their poor play over the past two-plus months.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Every year, a complacent, tightfisted city council turned down the recommendations.
    Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023
  • Kotick played the tightfisted owner of the Oakland A’s.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 31 May 2023
Adjective
  • The parsimonious publics of the United States and other democracies, on the other hand, would prevent their governments from expending the necessary resources to resist Beijing’s efforts to undermine a boycott.
    Dawn Brancati, Foreign Affairs, 25 Mar. 2021
  • Wimpy was a mild-mannered, soft-spoken, lazy, parsimonious, and utterly gluttonous hamburger-wolfing straight man to Popeye.
    Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Stingy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stingy. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

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