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penny-wise

adjective

Definition of penny-wisenext
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
  1. parsimonious
  2. miserly
  3. tightfisted
  4. penurious
  5. frugal
  6. thrifty
  7. stingy
  8. economical
Adjective
  • The pasta—a hair clump of noodles in a soupy, sweetish tomato sauce—came in one of those parsimonious bowls with a small hollow in the middle and a rim as broad as Saturn’s rings.
    — Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
  • 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
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
  • Andrew was successful but frugal, which apparently upset his daughters, per American Heritage.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Andrew was said to have been frugal with his daughters, but gave money to his new wife’s family.
    — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of frugal
Adjective
  • However, Office Max sold only name brand backpacks with the thriftiest being JanSport, Target and Walmart sold generic label backpacks.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 5 Aug. 2026
  • DIYers and thrifty car owners like to replace their own to avoid the high labor cost.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 18 June 2026
Definition of thrifty
Adjective
  • Yet given how rickety and stingy the country’s system of early-childhood support already is, the specifics of Vance’s proposal could produce astonishingly cruel results.
    — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026
  • And though Angel City sits midtable, its defense has been among the NWSL’s stingiest all season, having conceded just 27 times in 23 matches.
    — Karan Lodha, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of stingy
Adjective
  • Dollar Tree has economical yet festive football entertaining pieces that make a tailgate party stand out or a watch party easygoing.
    — Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 16 Sep. 2026
  • With its diesel plug-in hybrid powertrain, the XL1 was the most economical production car of its time.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of economical

Browse Nearby Words

penny-pinching
penny-wise
pennyworth
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Cite this Entry

“Penny-wise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penny-wise. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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