tightfisted

adjective

ˈtīt-ˈfi-stəd How to pronounce tightfisted (audio)
Definition of tightfistednext
as in miserly
giving or sharing as little as possible the company is pretty tightfisted when it comes to bonuses

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 tightfisted 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 But most problems that befall condo associations are not from nefarious board members or tightfisted unit owners, said Rolando, the Florida Bar Association’s Condominium and Planned Development Committee co-chair. — Washington Post, 7 July 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
  1. greedy
  2. selfish
  3. miserly
  4. parsimonious
  5. stingy
  6. ungenerous
  7. tight
  8. penurious
Adjective
  • The toys were not purloined, kidnapped, auctioned by Sotheby's or flipped by greedy collectors on eBay.
    — STEVE HENDRIX THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
  • John Wayne and Gary Cooper, like Ken-san, often played anachronistic loners from a disappearing Arcadia that was being destroyed by hard-nosed modernizers—greedy bankers, railway owners, big-city politicians.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of greedy
Adjective
  • Also on Weekend Update, James Austin Johnson portrayed a selfish Kevin O’Leary, the Shark Tank investor who is backing a massive data center campus in northwest Utah.
    — William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2026
  • That’s also how Violet is thinking about their portrayal of Maureen, whose eccentric performance art and selfish behavior often give the character a bad rap.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of selfish
Adjective
  • When not making inflammatory political statements, United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe is committed to a miserly mantra of cost-saving prudence.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The plot involves two sons of rich, miserly fathers in love with girls their fathers will never approve of and what happens when the fathers’ devious servants decide to give the boys a hand.
    — Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2026
Definition of miserly
Adjective
  • The pasta—a hair clump of noodles in a soupy, sweetish tomato sauce—came in one of those parsimonious bowls with a small hollow in the middle and a rim as broad as Saturn’s rings.
    — Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
  • This one seemed slow and turgid, and the Australian attack was parsimonious, with only the sixth bowler used, Ash Gardner, going at more than 10 runs an over in her three overs.
    — Paul Newman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of parsimonious
Adjective
  • The Mountaineers were held to 125 yards in the first half by the Big 12’s stingiest defense and were outgained 484-272.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Mexico’s stingy defense at the World Cup was a big part of its early success.
    — Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of stingy
Adjective
  • In my own cautionary tale, Sister needs redemption as much as Scrooge does; events of the past have made her bitter, ungenerous, and generally no fun to be around.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Despite recent increases, the state pension is relatively ungenerous, though Britons do have good private pensions.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of ungenerous
Adjective
  • Opinion polls predict tight race Domestically, Vucic has pledged higher pensions and public sector salaries, investment in state healthcare and subsidies for young couples.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Both parties expect whoever wins in November to do so by a tight margin in a state of 738,000 people.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of tight
Adjective
  • The Marlins of course notoriously are among baseball’s cheapest teams, led by penurious owner Bruce Sherman.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 5 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of penurious

Browse Nearby Words

tightens
tightfisted
tightfistedness
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Cite this Entry

“Tightfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tightfisted. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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