Synonyms of penurious

penurious

adjective

pə-ˈnu̇r-ē-əs 

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

• careful
• selfish
• greedy
• ungenerous
• miserly
• parsimonious
• tightfisted
• stingy
• tight
• cheap
• uncharitable
• penny-pinching
• desirous
• chintzy
• pinching
• close
• mean
• mingy
• economical
• sparing
• spare
• frugal
• conserving
• thrifty
• small
• stinting
• avaricious
• pinchpenny
• mercenary
• saving
• covetous
• chary
• closefisted
• economizing
• acquisitive
• sordid
• shabby
• rapacious
• resentful
• grudging
• avid
• envious
• hoggish
• itchy
• begrudging
• inhospitable
• scrimping
• grasping
• skimping
• coveting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• generous
• liberal
• charitable
• munificent
• bounteous
• bountiful
• unsparing
• openhanded
• altruistic
• unselfish
• extravagant
• unstinting
• selfless
• lavish
• handsome
• free
• benevolent
• overgenerous
• hospitable
• profuse
• philanthropic
• beneficent
• humanitarian
• magnanimous
• freehanded
• compassionate
• kindly
• unthrifty
• openhearted
• wasteful
• profligate
• spendthrift
• prodigal
• good-hearted
• wasting
• thriftless
• greathearted
• dissipating
• squandering
• frittering
• splurging

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• impoverished
• poor
• broke
• impecunious
• beggared
• penniless
• indigent
• needy
• bankrupt
• necessitous
• destitute
• beggarly
• needful
• famished
• dirt-poor
• deprived
• down-and-out
• pauperized
• poverty-stricken
• depressed
• threadbare
• skint
• hard up
• out of pocket
• bankrupted
• disadvantaged
• out at elbows
• underprivileged
• distressed
• dispossessed
• down on one's luck
• ruined
• insolvent
• unaffluent
• straitened
• pinched
• bust
• hand-to-mouth
• hardscrabble
• reduced
• cash-strapped
• short
• poorish
• low
• possessionless
• tapped out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealthy
• rich
• affluent
• moneyed
• well-to-do
• opulent
• fat
• flush
• well-off
• fat-cat
• prosperous
• well-heeled
• comfortable
• silk-stocking
• deep-pocketed

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

Recent Examples of penurious

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

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

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