as in miserly
giving or sharing as little as possible
the company is pretty tightfisted when it comes to bonuses
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tightfisted
Diplomats from neighboring countries, Afghans overseas and U.N. officials have all called on the United States to relax its tightfisted approach.
—
Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 June 2022
Dobie’s cantankerous, tightfisted father and sweet, harebrained mother were played by the characters actors Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus.
—Margalit Fox, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2022
The ambience reflects Hankey’s tightfisted approach to his seven companies, which include a Toyota dealership, a dealer management software developer and Midway Car Rental, which does a big business renting exotic cars.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021
The Heiress Hunt is about two strong-willed individuals learning to wrest the tightfisted control that has dictated their lives (and their success).
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2021
See All Example Sentences for tightfisted
Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 June 2022
Dobie’s cantankerous, tightfisted father and sweet, harebrained mother were played by the characters actors Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus.
—Margalit Fox, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2022
The ambience reflects Hankey’s tightfisted approach to his seven companies, which include a Toyota dealership, a dealer management software developer and Midway Car Rental, which does a big business renting exotic cars.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021
The Heiress Hunt is about two strong-willed individuals learning to wrest the tightfisted control that has dictated their lives (and their success).
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2021
See All Example Sentences for tightfisted
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tightfisted
Adjective
-
The film is set in Mumbai and built around a miserly protagonist whose circumstances spiral into escalating absurdity.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
21 Apr. 2026
-
UConn’s offense hasn’t been nearly as prolific, averaging 73.2 points per game, although its D has been downright miserly.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The record labels are very greedy.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
24 May 2026
-
People have to suffer in order for people to be really greedy.—
Maria Bamford,
Vulture,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
Squandering his Senate seniority and experience at this time, combined with his decision to appoint a newbie to replace him, should that opportunity arise, seems misguided at best and selfish at worst.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
My grown kids still act like kids — selfish and insensitive.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
What fraction visible at basically every U.S. gas station originated as a parsimonious response to a 1932 one-penny gas tax?—
Drew Goins,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The financial rewards accrued from streaming and downloading have been parsimonious.—
Thomas Doherty,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Some of Colorado's top scorers have struggled against the Golden Knights' stingy defense.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 May 2026
-
Montreal’s rebuild looks like the class of the league, Buffalo is finally on the rise, and Ottawa made the playoffs off a stingy brand of possession hockey.—
Dom Luszczyszyn,
New York Times,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
Here’s the resulting exchange: RC Women writers frequently adopt a tone or an attitude toward their female characters which is somewhat negative and ungenerous.—
Emily Temple,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
-
There’s a generous and an ungenerous reading of Carole Radziwill returning to RHONY.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
Long an astute observer of discovery and rediscovery, whether the subject is a city or herself, Sante—having emerged from a tight circle of luminaries including Jim Jarmusch, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Nan Goldin—is now on the precipice of a second artistic renaissance.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
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By greatly expanding the dimensions of his images, with their muted palettes, tight cropping, found symmetries, and laconic wit, had the maestro of the photographic epigram betrayed his subtractive aesthetic?—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Then the usually penurious Indians suddenly splurged.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tightfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tightfisted. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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