COSTIVE Synonyms: 66 Similar and Opposite Words

costive

adjective

Definition of costive

as in penurious

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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 costive In fact, their writings are more pungent now that they have been liberated from the costive confines of the movement. — Jacob Heilbrunn, The New Republic, 23 Jan. 2020 Movies coiled up in other movies have a habit of becoming either costive or cute, but somehow Falardeau avoids the traps. — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 15 May 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for costive

Adjective

There’s a cast of wanderers, visionaries, and itinerants, the self-educated and self-published, a long lineage of cranks and outcasts, mostly penurious, always opinionated, stretching away into the mists of pseudohistory.

— Hari Kunzru, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
But both are gone because neither could make magic of Sherman’s low-spending model that still includes the most penurious payroll in MLB in 2025.

— Greg Cote July 16, Miami Herald, 16 July 2025

Definition of penurious

Adjective

This one seemed slow and turgid, and the Australian attack was parsimonious, with only the sixth bowler used, Ash Gardner, going at more than 10 runs an over in her three overs.

— Paul Newman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
This is the most parsimonious way to account for the unified nature of consciousness, according to subcorticalists.

— Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 28 May 2026

Definition of parsimonious

Adjective

But there’s a point at which an act of service risks inverting into a selfish act.

— Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
Unlike Reborn Rich, Reborn Rookie is a comedy, finding a fair amount of fun in the story of a CEO who accidentally swaps bodies with a young soccer player, and uses the opportunity to get revenge on his selfish children.

— Kayti Burt, Time, 6 July 2026

Definition of selfish

Adjective

Dobie’s cantankerous, tightfisted father and sweet, harebrained mother were played by the characters actors Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus.

— Margalit Fox, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2022
The ambience reflects Hankey’s tightfisted approach to his seven companies, which include a Toyota dealership, a dealer management software developer and Midway Car Rental, which does a big business renting exotic cars.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021

Definition of tightfisted

Browse Nearby Words

costing

costive

costless

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“Costive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/costive. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of costive

adjective

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