as in miserly
giving or sharing as little as possible
the company is pretty tightfisted when it comes to bonuses
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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
-
Summers in Florida would not be so hot if lawmakers were not so greedy; developers not so persistent; if land and wildlife weren’t paved for roads, parking lots and housing developments.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 May 2026
-
The bottom line is this World Cup’s bottom line comes with the tournament’s most expensive tickets ever the world’s most popular event collides with all-American capitalism at its greediest.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
My young and selfish self was not happy.—
Esther Ndumi Ngumbi,
NPR,
10 May 2026
-
To do otherwise is neglectful and selfish.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
8 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
-
All seven games were decided by a goal, and four went to overtime, with the stingiest of netminders at both ends.—
Eduardo A. Encina,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 May 2026
-
The Avalanche, who surrendered the fewest goals in the regular season, jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the almost-as-stingy Wild less than seven minutes into the game only to have to sweat it out and forge a comeback themselves after Minnesota scored five of the next six goals.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2026
Adjective
-
There’s a generous and an ungenerous reading of Carole Radziwill returning to RHONY.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
-
There’s an ungenerous and shallow way to look at this film as little more than a highlight reel of Hammer’s work, a paltry substitute for actually spending meaningful time with the work itself.—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But as the season has progressed and the pressure has increased, their margins of victory have become tighter.—
Dean Jones,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
Cornyn’s legislation comes as the four-term senator is locked in a tight GOP primary contest against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
12 May 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 13 May. 2026.
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