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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective penurious contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of penurious are close, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, and stingy. While all these words mean "being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others," penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

Where would close be a reasonable alternative to penurious?

While the synonyms close and penurious are close in meaning, close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.

folks who are very close when charity calls

When might miserly be a better fit than penurious?

While in some cases nearly identical to penurious, miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

When is it sensible to use niggardly instead of penurious?

Although the words niggardly and penurious have much in common, niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

In what contexts can parsimonious take the place of penurious?

The words parsimonious and penurious can be used in similar contexts, but parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

When can stingy be used instead of penurious?

The meanings of stingy and penurious largely overlap; however, stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

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 penurious Whatever was going on between the two rich men, the murder investigation presents a profound, perhaps insurmountable challenge to the penurious tropical police force. Nina Burleigh, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 May 2024 Both album and turntable were all the rage, and the Technics was the first quality direct-drive turntable that a penurious college student could afford. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 20 Mar. 2024 There are resentful relatives, penurious relatives, conniving relatives, no relatives, and loved ones denied input because they are not related. Dan Barry, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 The book looks beyond Appalachia, concluding the regions in question had been exploited by single industries and white elites, paying poor wages with equally penurious working conditions. Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2023 See All Example Sentences for penurious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penurious
Adjective
  • Be careful not to break the stems on flowers like cosmos or coneflowers because a bent stem won't provide water to the bloom.
    Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Be careful to navigate around these components and move slowly when cutting anything with a mix of hard and soft textures, Rade Vukmir, MD, professor of clinical emergency medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine, tells SELF.
    Erica Sloan, SELF, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Having two of the three most impoverished cities, especially when those cities are experiencing booming population growth, is its own kind of economic miracle, if an ignominious one.
    Kathryn Anne Edwards, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
  • The eye-popping dollar figures in the statements contrast with everything else happening on an impoverished island, where people spend much of their time without electricity and many still depend on meager food rations to survive.
    Nora Gamez Torres, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The United States seems to be the only major nation that’s in the grip of such mercenary and selfish dogma.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Each declaration chips away at the outdated beliefs that wealth is unladylike or selfish.
    Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Specifically, poor capital allocation decisions have destroyed significant value.
    Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2025
  • The general manager, making a rare road trip, told reporters that his presence had more to do with his scheduling availability than the Yankees’ third-place standing or their poor play over the past two-plus months.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Though one is a human innovation and the other hails from a distant world, neither would’ve posed a danger had greedy tech barons not released them from the Pandora’s box of scientific progress.
    Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
  • O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i and the big island of Hawai’i were all joined by water but divided by greedy men, cunning chiefs and a cycle of endless combat.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Campaigning is expensive, so if the people you are elected to represent are going broke, special interest groups fill the fiscal void.
    Christopher Eric Bouchat, Baltimore Sun, 29 July 2025
  • All the while Lucy finds herself in a love triangle torn between a wealthy finance man and a broke, aspiring actor.
    Yola Robert, Forbes.com, 26 July 2025
Adjective
  • At least with Derrick, the shallowness seems intentional, if ungenerous.
    Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 13 June 2025
  • But, even though there was nothing the slightest bit ungracious or ungenerous about her performance, it was felt more like the audience being asked to come to her.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Lillian Feldman was born to impecunious Jewish emigres in Cincinnati on July 13, 1927, the twelfth of thirteen children who were encouraged by their mother to draw on the walls.
    News Desk, Artforum, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Among them is the sardonic confidant, St. Quentin; the down-at-the-heels military man, Major Brutt; and the impecunious, high-living chancer, Eddie.
    Washington Post, Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2021

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Cite this Entry

“Penurious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penurious. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

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