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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
  • Both coaches and players have been respectful of the other team all week, careful not to produce any bulletin board material.
    Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Ben Lewis Doherty, playing a boy named Sam whose life is upended by Robbie, is the show’s greatest innocent, a softhearted moppet who warns deer to be careful when crossing the street.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Shooting scenes in wide or medium shots that sometimes break into Hsiao-Lee’s harrowing point-of-view, cinematographer Yu Jing-Pin depicts a world without much color or hope, while sets by Huang Mei-Ching and Tu Shuo-Feng emphasize a sad and impoverished existence.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Each serves a high rate of students from impoverished households, and families within the schools' boundaries can choose to attend those schools or receive a bus to a second school option based on their address.
    Krista Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Saying no is not about being selfish.
    Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Roup wants moms to be a little more selfish.
    Korin Miller, SELF, 25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • But prorating three years of player profits down to 12 months, as UEFA’s rule does, reduces the immediate efficacy of successful trading in the market, the very strategy that poorer clubs increasingly rely on to climb the ladder.
    Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Like most extended car warranty providers, CarShield excludes pre-existing conditions that existed before your warranty took effect, as well as damage resulting from poor maintenance, neglect or intentional abuse.
    Brian Sloan, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Fleming and Iwamasa, as well as greedy ketamine providing doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez have all previously entered guilty pleas in the Perry case.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Women are greedy, untrustworthy, weak and inferior, these influencers say.
    Will Carless, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • If it’s not broke, don’t fix it As one social media user said, bullying works.
    Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
  • She had been laid off from her job at Whole Foods in July 2005 and was practically broke when Katrina hit.
    Curtis Bunn, NBC news, 27 Aug. 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 9 Sep. 2025.

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