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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective stingy contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of stingy are close, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, and penurious. While all these words mean "being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others," stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

When could close be used to replace stingy?

The words close and stingy can be used in similar contexts, but 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 stingy?

The words miserly and stingy are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

When is niggardly a more appropriate choice than stingy?

In some situations, the words niggardly and stingy are roughly equivalent. However, niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

When would parsimonious be a good substitute for stingy?

While the synonyms parsimonious and stingy are close in meaning, parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

Where would penurious be a reasonable alternative to stingy?

While in some cases nearly identical to stingy, penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

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 stingy But for some of these newer regions, the guide has been stingy with the stars, with only a handful for each at their debut. Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2025 Best Luggage and Travel Bags Deals The online retailer wasn’t being stingy with its luggage deals. Rylee Johnston, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2025 Seattle is typically stingy with first-round grades, and this may be another year in which the team’s board has maybe a dozen or so prospects with Round 1 grades. Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025 The Mets’ bullpen has been exceptionally stingy to start the season. Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 6 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for stingy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stingy
Adjective
  • From examining markets and assessing team capacity to reviewing current offerings, the decision to expand to a second storefront is one that requires careful consideration before any concrete plans are put in motion.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
  • Hillman and the department urged residents in the area to be extra careful this time of year.
    Brooke Baitinger, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • The production must be sparse, so the vocal isn’t overpowered.
    Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2025
  • Reversing these trends is difficult, especially since data is sparse on species declines, which is key to getting them legal protections.
    Katarina Zimmer, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • But the approval process has been slow, the discounts vary from carrier to carrier, the requirements coming from insurers don’t always match the state’s own standards and the savings on offer are, according to some, miserly.
    CalMatters, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Newcastle's player sale profits were miserly for years until June 2024 Profit on player sales from 2014 to 2024 (£millions) Column chart of Newcastle United profit on player sales, where club record £69.8m in 2023-24 far outweigh what came before.
    Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • These alliances are particularly beneficial for smaller organizations that stand to gain from pooled resources or those in regions where talent is scarce but demand for specialized staff is high.
    Randy Wong, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
  • Ahead of Pink Elephant, the Montreal collective known for its insistent politics and uplifting lyricism was scarce and guarded in its direct communications.
    Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 13 May 2025
Adjective
  • The Ultraman of the comics would need a whole lot of convincing to help A.R.G.U.S. or anyone else to work for something other than his own selfish designs; not to mention doing it while hiding his identity.
    Michileen Martin, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
  • What Pete Rose did was selfish, illicit, shameful, crooked.
    John Nogowski, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each added 23 points and OG Anunoby bounced back from two poor performances by scoring 20 for the Knicks, who can win the series Wednesday night at Boston.
    Brian Mahoney, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2025
  • Boston built big second-half leads on New York in both Games 1 and 2 at home, but squandered them due to uncharacteristically poor 3-point shooting.
    Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
Adjective
  • Conservatives, in their minds, are just always evil, mean, greedy, bad demons.
    Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 16 May 2025
  • Here’s some truth that many women are not accustomed to hearing: wanting to be wealthy is not greedy.
    Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • Every year, a complacent, tightfisted city council turned down the recommendations.
    Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023
  • Kotick played the tightfisted owner of the Oakland A’s.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 31 May 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Stingy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stingy. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

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