Synonyms of pinched

pinched 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in reduced

Related Words

• reduced
• straitened
• bankrupt
• displaced
• dispossessed
• broke
• insolvent
• bankrupted
• deprived
• needy
• penniless
• impoverished
• impecunious
• destitute
• disadvantaged
• penurious
• depressed
• beggared
• indigent
• poor
• unprivileged
• poverty-stricken
• underprivileged

Dissimilar Words

• privileged
• lucky
• advantaged
• fortunate
• rich
• blessed
• wealthy
• loaded
• flush
• affluent
• spoiled
• moneyed
• opulent
• pampered
• successful
• comfortable
• well-to-do
• indulged
• prosperous
• propertied
• coddled
• well-heeled
• well-off
• flourishing
• thriving
• prospering

2

as in gaunt

Related Words

• gaunt
• haggard
• wizened
• emaciated
• skeletal
• stringy
• spindly
• waspish
• reedy
• anorexic
• wasted
• weedy
• cadaverous
• lank
• lanky
• twiggy
• puny
• scrawny
• anorectic
• meager
• wiry
• rangy
• rawboned
• angular
• trim
• sinewy
• scraggy
• slight
• spindling
• willowy
• lean
• thin
• skinny
• bony
• slender
• sylphlike
• clean-limbed
• spare
• svelte
• slim
• lithe
• fatless

Dissimilar Words

• plump
• fat
• chubby
• gross
• rotund
• fleshy
• thick
• corpulent
• obese
• overweight
• heavy
• bulky
• tubby
• portly
• beefy
• chunky
• stocky
• stout
• weighty
• thickset
• pudgy
• husky
• stubby
• burly
• heavyset
• brawny
• dumpy
• squat
• flabby
• soft
• paunchy
• potbellied
• round
• full
• buxom
• roly-poly
• hippy
• zaftig

pinched

2 of 2

verb

past tense of pinch

1

as in nipped

to squeeze tightly between two surfaces, edges, or points

the zipper on those jeans always pinches me

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nipped
• held
• clasped
• clutched
• grasped
• gripped
• crimped
• tweaked
• took

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dropped
• released
• sprang
• loosened
• freed
• loosed

2

as in stole

to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep

pinched the earrings while the boutique owner was distracted by another customer

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stole
• swiped
• lifted
• grabbed
• nicked
• nipped
• snatched
• robbed
• pilfered
• filched
• pocketed
• purloined
• hooked
• appropriated
• ripped off
• misappropriated
• snitched
• boosted
• picked
• hijacked
• thieved
• seized
• took
• heisted
• plundered
• made off with
• ran off with
• made away with
• looted
• sacked
• walked off with
• pillaged
• knocked over
• rifled
• grasped
• burglarized
• poached
• rustled
• nailed
• kidnapped
• collared
• abducted
• sponged
• spirited
• carjacked
• shoplifted
• mooched
• shanghaied

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• purchased
• bought
• presented
• gave
• contributed
• donated
• bestowed
• handed over

3

as in arrested

to take or keep under one's control by authority of law

pinched the purse snatcher just two blocks from where he had robbed the old lady

Synonyms & Similar Words

• arrested
• seized
• grabbed
• apprehended
• restrained
• nicked
• detained
• nailed
• captured
• busted
• collared
• snatched
• ran in
• pulled in
• caught
• nabbed
• committed
• picked up
• trapped
• jailed
• imprisoned
• hooked
• confined
• incarcerated
• snapped (up)
• snared
• landed
• bound
• grappled
• handcuffed
• bagged
• locked (up)
• held
• got
• shackled
• interned
• fettered
• jugged
• immured
• manacled
• trammeled
• enchained
• remanded
• rearrested

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• discharged
• loosened
• released
• sprang
• liberated
• freed
• emancipated
• loosed
• unbound
• unchained

4

as in saved

to avoid unnecessary waste or expense

if we pinch hard for the upcoming year, we can probably afford the vacation at that fancy resort

Synonyms & Similar Words

• saved
• spared
• conserved
• skimped
• managed
• economized
• scraped
• scrimped
• preserved
• pinched pennies
• maintained
• husbanded
• cut down
• hoarded
• retrenched
• laid up
• cut back

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wasted
• spent
• blew
• dissipated
• squandered
• lavished
• threw away
• ran through
• misspent
• frittered (away)
• splurged

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pinched

Verb

On the final play of the first quarter of Saturday’s preseason opener, backup quarterback Kyle Allen scrambled left and got pinched off near the sideline. — Tim Graham, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026

Nerves are effectively long cables running from the spinal cord out to the skin and muscles, and like any cable, they can be pinched. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Many teachers and residents across the county are feeling pinched by Johnson County’s rising costs of living. — Taylor O'Connor 15, Kansas City Star, 15 July 2026

But the chairman also acknowledged how consumers are feeling pinched by years of high inflation. — Zach Halaschak, The Washington Examiner, 14 July 2026

This decline has pinched profit margins in the 401(k) world, said Kai Richter, an attorney with Cohen Milstein who has long specialized in ERISA class-action cases. — Paul Kiel, ProPublica, 8 July 2026

My thumb and index finger pinched together to grab a dime, while my middle finger reached farther to pick up coins that had rolled under the edge of a cabinet. — Steven Lautzenheiser, The Conversation, 6 July 2026

Paintings of Rush made in his lifetime depicted a man with flat hair and long, pinched features. — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 3 July 2026

With many families increasingly financially pinched, some are turning to credit cards and other forms of debt to cover daily expenses, which could also contribute to their pessimism about the economy, Hanks said. — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 30 June 2026