as in parsimonious
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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
But even if successful, such an effort would likely be penny-wise and pound-foolish, leading U.S. allies to turn away from Washington in the long term.
—Stephen G. Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2025
Cheap graphics cards are penny-wise but dollar-foolish for gaming PCs.
—Brad Bourque, Wired News, 9 Aug. 2024
Having these tenants lose their apartments and become homeless is penny-wise and pound-foolish.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2024
Ironically, its source is here on Earth: Congress, which has the penny-wise but pound-foolish policy of releasing just a trickle of funding to the space agency every year, hobbles many of NASA's mission goals that require thinking past a two-year House or six-year Senate term.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2023
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
But even if successful, such an effort would likely be penny-wise and pound-foolish, leading U.S. allies to turn away from Washington in the long term.
—Stephen G. Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2025
Cheap graphics cards are penny-wise but dollar-foolish for gaming PCs.
—Brad Bourque, Wired News, 9 Aug. 2024
Having these tenants lose their apartments and become homeless is penny-wise and pound-foolish.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2024
Ironically, its source is here on Earth: Congress, which has the penny-wise but pound-foolish policy of releasing just a trickle of funding to the space agency every year, hobbles many of NASA's mission goals that require thinking past a two-year House or six-year Senate term.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penny-wise
Adjective
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Chelsea are famously parsimonious in the transfer market, after all.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
21 Aug. 2025
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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
Adjective
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Depp will play the titular role of Ebenezer Scrooge, a misanthropic and miserly businessman in 19th century London who is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future in an effort to save himself from an afterlife of torment.—
Adam B. Vary,
Variety,
23 Oct. 2025
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But if raising the minimum wage to $25 an hour would actually help all workers, why be so miserly about it?—
Adam Summers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Every year, a complacent, tightfisted city council turned down the recommendations.—
Margaret Talbot,
The New Yorker,
2 Oct. 2023
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Kotick played the tightfisted owner of the Oakland A’s.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
31 May 2023
Adjective
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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
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Even so, the general picture of a mother’s absence and a daughter’s understandable resentment at having had to pick up the maternal slack in penurious conditions comes through loud and clear.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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For example, the vibe of M&M’s upcoming Bakery Collection—which includes such flavors as cherry chocolate cupcake, lemon meringue pie, and peanut-butter cinnamon roll—is fun, not frugal.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
7 Oct. 2025
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Those pledges – that will cost billions of euros, end austerity and test the country’s frugal mindset – resonated with many Czechs who have seen their real incomes plunge in recent years as the country tackled soaring inflation.—
Reuters 3 hr ago,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Not the kind of thrift store that’s actually thrifty, but the kind of thrift store that doesn’t have any price tags because the people who can afford to shop there don’t need to bother themselves with price tags.—
Lex Goldstein,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
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Billionaires are known for throwing their money at super yachts, oceanside mansions, and luxury cars—but some still carry their thrifty habits made before reaching 10-figure net worths.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Bobrovsky has been even stingier during Florida’s recent run to back-to-back titles, notching five shutouts over his past six playoff series.—
Julian McKenzie,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
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Cumdumpster, by contrast, was brusque, peremptory, and stingy with his scores, as if I’d been put on earth to curate pornography for him.—
Daniel Kolitz,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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By pairing Torax with advanced AI models, the companies will explore the most effective ways to run the machine, potentially making future commercial fusion power plants, called ARC, more efficient and economical.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Oct. 2025
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Throwing in a few chunks of bread is an easy, economical way to make a brothy soup feel more substantial and turn it into a filling meal.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penny-wise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penny-wise. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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