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
-
Como had been neck-and-neck with Roma’s miserly backline before shipping four at Inter last Saturday, a chastening defeat that ended an unbeaten run stretching back to the end of August.—
Jack Bantock,
New York Times,
12 Dec. 2025
-
In this version, miserly Madame Eleanor is visited by the ghost former business partner Jacob Marley as well as a few other apparitions.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
26 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The song is a painfully cynical look at music fandom, the record industry, and how tragic deaths are exploited for cash by greedy executives.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Carrey portrays Ebenezer Scrooge, a cantankerous, greedy old man visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve who show him the error of his ways.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
11 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Freedom and rule of law were defended last night, but dictators will try to exploit this to rationalize their selfish objectives.—
Rachel Scott,
ABC News,
3 Jan. 2026
-
Even though a lot of what happens in the book borders on the ridiculous because of the behavior of narcissistic selfish venal individuals.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
But the parsimonious Lady Featherington (Polly Walker) gives Varly her old hideous yellow and green dresses instead of a raise (this is clearly the Regency-era equivalent of the office pizza party).—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The latter offers a more judicious form of clemency, but only on a parsimonious, individual basis.—
Bernadette Meyler,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The complaint that the Grammys are disrespectfully stingy with which awards get shown during the main event — this was the sticking point in a hip-hop artist boycott in 1989 — will probably hold true of achievements in dozens of genres tucked away in the pre-show.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
-
But Blackwood was also sharp in net when needed, and the Avs were pretty stingy themselves away from the puck.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
No one wants to disappoint their child or be seen as ungenerous.—
Mandy Len Catron,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Unkindness and people being ungenerous.—
Maria Bamford,
Vulture,
26 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
End-to-end humanoid control Figure claims Helix 02 demonstrates a major step forward in humanoid autonomy by performing continuous, multi-minute tasks that require tight integration of locomotion, dexterity, and sensing.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Metals from copper to aluminum have powered higher in the opening weeks of 2026, as global investors pile into industrial commodities in bets on tighter supply, a weaker US dollar, and Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.—
Bloomberg News,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Then the usually penurious Indians suddenly splurged.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes.com,
19 Jan. 2026
-
But both are gone because neither could make magic of Sherman’s low-spending model that still includes the most penurious payroll in MLB in 2025.—
Greg Cote
July 16,
Miami Herald,
16 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tightfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tightfisted. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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