PENNY-WISE Synonyms: 49 Similar and Opposite Words

penny-wise

adjective

Definition of penny-wise

as in parsimonious

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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 penny-wise That led to the penny-wise, pound-foolish path of appeasement. — Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025 Undermining Bayh-Dole to scrape together a billion or two in revenue would be penny-wise and pound-foolish. — Sally Pipes, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 In fiscal terms, the budget cuts are penny-wise and galactically foolish. — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025 Cheap graphics cards are penny-wise but dollar-foolish for gaming PCs. — Brad Bourque, Wired News, 9 Aug. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for penny-wise

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

The plot involves two sons of rich, miserly fathers in love with girls their fathers will never approve of and what happens when the fathers’ devious servants decide to give the boys a hand.

— Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2026
The already rich reap the most, though the thin spreading of payments means the payouts are relatively miserly for the game’s elite.

— Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 21 July 2026

Definition of miserly

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

Adjective

The Marlins of course notoriously are among baseball’s cheapest teams, led by penurious owner Bruce Sherman.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of penurious

Adjective

This goes with countless ingredients that people just get too stingy with—including butter, cheese, garlic, and more.

— Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 20 Aug. 2026
Burton was not nearly as flashy, but still found ways to score against a stingy Minnesota defense, pulling the Valkyries within single digits while playing every minute of the second half.

— Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of stingy

Adjective

That concision is evident in an almost brutally economical edit and in sharp, precise writing which provides narrative elements and deftly sketches character before moving busily on.

— Caspar Salmon, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
The study, published in Scientific Reports, found that the most aggressive driving style generated far higher battery-aging stress than smoother, more economical driving.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of economical

Browse Nearby Words

penny-pinching

penny-wise

pennyworth

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Cite this Entry

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“Penny-wise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penny-wise. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of penny-wise

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

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