Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective parsimonious contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of parsimonious are close, miserly, niggardly, penurious, and stingy. While all these words mean "being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others," parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

When could close be used to replace parsimonious?

While in some cases nearly identical to parsimonious, close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.

folks who are very close when charity calls

When is it sensible to use miserly instead of parsimonious?

The meanings of miserly and parsimonious largely overlap; however, miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

Where would niggardly be a reasonable alternative to parsimonious?

While the synonyms niggardly and parsimonious are close in meaning, niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

When would penurious be a good substitute for parsimonious?

The words penurious and parsimonious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

In what contexts can stingy take the place of parsimonious?

In some situations, the words stingy and parsimonious are roughly equivalent. However, stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

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 parsimonious If the physical action is doled out in parsimonious bites, the verbal action is an extravagant feast of double helpings. Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2025 To attribute the corrosion of institutional trust to such bugbears as relativism or postmodernism is to ignore explanations that are both more concrete and more parsimonious. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025 In a perfect and parsimonious world, a single two-stage spacecraft would land on Mars, scoop up soil samples in situ, and transfer them to an ascent stage which would blast off into orbit. Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 13 Jan. 2025 The famously parsimonious king, a sustainability advocate, regularly sends his roomy double- and single-breasted styles back for repairs. Samantha Conti, WWD, 5 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for parsimonious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for parsimonious
Adjective
  • To remove the paint from hinge mortises, remove the hinges and scrape away the paint using a 5-in-1 tool or a chisel, being careful not to cut into the wood itself.
    Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 May 2025
  • This thing is razor sharp though, be careful when using it in the backcountry.
    Scott Gilbertson, Wired News, 25 May 2025
Adjective
  • But the approval process has been slow, the discounts vary from carrier to carrier, the requirements coming from insurers don’t always match the state’s own standards and the savings on offer are, according to some, miserly.
    CalMatters, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Newcastle's player sale profits were miserly for years until June 2024 Profit on player sales from 2014 to 2024 (£millions) Column chart of Newcastle United profit on player sales, where club record £69.8m in 2023-24 far outweigh what came before.
    Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The Ultraman of the comics would need a whole lot of convincing to help A.R.G.U.S. or anyone else to work for something other than his own selfish designs; not to mention doing it while hiding his identity.
    Michileen Martin, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
  • What Pete Rose did was selfish, illicit, shameful, crooked.
    John Nogowski, Hartford Courant, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • What the greedy developers are trying to do burns me to no end.
    Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 May 2025
  • The beloved ruler was supposed to care about the wellbeing of his people, but the noblemen beneath him were greedy and indifferent.
    David Hambling, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
Adjective
  • Every year, a complacent, tightfisted city council turned down the recommendations.
    Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023
  • Kotick played the tightfisted owner of the Oakland A’s.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 31 May 2023
Adjective
  • Autonomous vehicle technology has been hard to commercialize, with tight regulations and heavy investments forcing many companies to give up.
    Akash Sriram, USA Today, 22 May 2025
  • But there are also plenty of tight binary systems, where the stars orbit each other at a radius that would place them both comfortably inside our Solar System.
    John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Their penalty kill is stingy in their own zone and disruptive enough to generate some chances.
    Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 22 May 2025
  • Safe to say that synergy has come to flourish between Veach and Spagnuolo, whose defenses have significantly outperformed the Chiefs’ vaunted offense the last two seasons and have been among the NFL’s 10 stingiest units in five of Spagnuolo’s six seasons.
    Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 21 May 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • Perhaps most perplexing about Smash, though, is its weirdly cynical, ungenerous take on the Bombshell herself.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Parsimonious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/parsimonious. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on parsimonious

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!