BELT-TIGHTENING Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

belt-tightening

noun

Definition of belt-tightening

as in austerity

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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 belt-tightening Opponents argue the policy is shrinking the city’s restaurant workforce by forcing belt-tightening and putting establishments out of business. — Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026 The budget gap needed unexpected belt-tightening and spending only on the essentials. — Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026 The package extended the belt-tightening path South Africa has been on since 2018, when President Cyril Ramaphosa took over a fiscally strained by ballooning budget shortfalls, rising budget shortfalls and a cascade of credit rating cuts. — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 9 Mar. 2026 Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes. — Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for belt-tightening

Recent Examples of Synonyms for belt-tightening

Noun

On the back of a million-pound investment in 2012, the community has organized to restore life to a deprived area hit hard by austerity.

— Kyle Vanelli, STAT, 14 Aug. 2026
This downturn in the local economy was made worse by decades of austerity measures and brain drain.

— George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of austerity

Noun

Avoid the inevitable pinching and riding up by opting for a more sophisticated silhouette, like the Willit Tailored Linen Shorts.

— Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2026
This pair has an identical strap design to Stewart’s style, made of a knit fabric to minimize uncomfortable rubbing and pinching.

— Genevieve Cepeda, InStyle, 18 July 2026

Definition of pinching

Noun

These adjustments add to the fact that while blockades can impose privation, modern governments and their nationalist populations can accept a lot of suffering before considering major political concessions.

— Eugene Gholz, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2026
Yamal has spoken about being recognised on the street at 13, the privations of fame accrued before puberty.

— Jack Lang, New York Times, 18 July 2026

Definition of privation

Noun

Elci said the uncertainty — and being taken off the air for even a day — was misery.

— Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2026
Another finds his misery exacerbated by a Christmas spent shooting a war movie opposite its star Brad Pitt’s stand-in, in a rare evocation of how impersonal blockbuster filmmaking has become.

— Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of misery

Noun

Potential finalists will be notified via email and will be required to complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, License of Work and Release of Liability/Publicity within three (3) days of date of notification, or a shorter time if required by exigencies, or a runner-up may be selected.

— Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 25 June 2026
The exigencies of the Revolution lead to promising more people representation.

— KEN BURNS, Rolling Stone, 19 May 2026

Definition of exigency

Noun

In the five years since the chaotic US withdrawal from Kabul and the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan has become home to one of the world’s worst human rights and humanitarian emergencies.

— Kara Fox, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
He was brought to a hospital emergency department in a Paris suburb where he was diagnosed with dementia — and with anemia caused by a longstanding loss of blood.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of emergency

Browse Nearby Words

belts up

belt-tightening

belt-tightenings

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Style

“Belt-tightening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belt-tightening. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of belt-tightening

noun

Example Sentences

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