1
as in careful
giving or sharing as little as possible
the company's penurious management could not be convinced of the need to earmark more money for research and development
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
the most penurious members of the community are forced to depend on the services of the food bank
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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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
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 when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
11 Jan. 2026
-
These soft and chewy treats are the result of dozens of careful recipe tests.—
Lizzy Briskin,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Critics call it a venue for the world’s elites to hobnob and do business that sometimes comes at the expense of workers, the impoverished or people on the margins of society.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Jan. 2026
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Almost every child who goes into foster care is impoverished and almost all leave foster care broke.—
Joseph Shapiro,
NPR,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Freedom and rule of law were defended last night, but dictators will try to exploit this to rationalize their selfish objectives.—
Rachel Scott,
ABC News,
3 Jan. 2026
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Even though a lot of what happens in the book borders on the ridiculous because of the behavior of narcissistic selfish venal individuals.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Jan. 2026
-
In recent games, KU’s communication has been pretty poor on defense and that’s led to players taking (and too often missing) wide-open 3-pointers.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The song is a painfully cynical look at music fandom, the record industry, and how tragic deaths are exploited for cash by greedy executives.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Carrey portrays Ebenezer Scrooge, a cantankerous, greedy old man visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve who show him the error of his ways.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
11 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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All of that stuff is very much in play in what’s recognizably on-brand Steppenwolf acting, typified by go-for-broke intensity, naked in more ways than one, from Coon and Smallwood, especially.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Dennis Hamlin took out multiple mortgages, maxed out several credit cards and nearly went broke, the Associated Press reported, all in pursuit of the dream to get his son into NASCAR.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
No one wants to disappoint their child or be seen as ungenerous.—
Mandy Len Catron,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
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Unkindness and people being ungenerous.—
Maria Bamford,
Vulture,
26 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Cowley graduated in 1920, and for a year and a half lived an adventurous, impecunious Grub Street life in New York, before a fellowship took him, now married, back to France for a master’s in French.—
Michael Gorra,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Penurious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penurious. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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