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
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How much is unclear, but with the Portuguese’s contract not due to expire until June 2027, the amounts won’t be miserly.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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That’ll teach Assad to give Meatball more than a miserly $40 contribution next time!—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
24 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Polaha plays Dick Hall, the president of Meridian Mortgage who is taken hostage by Tony Kiritsis (Ribisi), who publicly accuses him on being a greedy and cutthroat monster.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
24 Sep. 2025
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Left-wing antisemitism, which cast Jews as greedy capitalists, existed as well, especially in France, but Jew-baiting remained primarily a right-wing pursuit, the work of illiberal nativists who saw a tiny minority as polluting the purity of their racial or religious communities.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The constant demands of parenting can make personal goals feel secondary or even selfish.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
10 Oct. 2025
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Yet her relationship with Ed is entirely selfish.—
Lexi Carson,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Chelsea are famously parsimonious in the transfer market, after all.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
21 Aug. 2025
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Wimpy was a mild-mannered, soft-spoken, lazy, parsimonious, and utterly gluttonous hamburger-wolfing straight man to Popeye.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 July 2025
Adjective
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While the Browns aren't exactly an offensive juggernaut, their defense has been stingy, and the Steelers' offense has had trouble moving the chains this season.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
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Brown will play nine or 10 guys, compared to Thibodeau’s stingier approach.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
At least with Derrick, the shallowness seems intentional, if ungenerous.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
13 June 2025
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But, even though there was nothing the slightest bit ungracious or ungenerous about her performance, it was felt more like the audience being asked to come to her.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski’s excellent performance from the mound – striking out nine, a Milwaukee rookie postseason record – ensured that Thursday’s game was a tight affair through five innings, but LA took the lead in the sixth on Tommy Edman’s RBI single.—
George Ramsay,
CNN Money,
17 Oct. 2025
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Thibodeau was known for utilizing a tight rotation and playing his guys for extended minutes.—
Stan Son,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Even so, the general picture of a mother’s absence and a daughter’s understandable resentment at having had to pick up the maternal slack in penurious conditions comes through loud and clear.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Tightfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tightfisted. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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