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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Depp will play the titular role of Ebenezer Scrooge, a misanthropic and miserly businessman in 19th century London who is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future in an effort to save himself from an afterlife of torment.—
Adam B. Vary,
Variety,
23 Oct. 2025
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But if raising the minimum wage to $25 an hour would actually help all workers, why be so miserly about it?—
Adam Summers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Because even in a world of monsters, ghouls, and greedy jerks, the good guys still prevail.—
Gwen Ihnat,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Both love rich, moist soil and neither one is greedy with space in the garden.—
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
After sharing his story online, commenters expressed sympathy for the boy’s situation, calling his father’s behavior selfish and neglectful.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Expecting others to adapt to us is a selfish gesture that distorts the spirit of travel.—
Wilson Santiago Burgos,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Chelsea are famously parsimonious in the transfer market, after all.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
21 Aug. 2025
-
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
-
Bobrovsky has been even stingier during Florida’s recent run to back-to-back titles, notching five shutouts over his past six playoff series.—
Julian McKenzie,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
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Cumdumpster, by contrast, was brusque, peremptory, and stingy with his scores, as if I’d been put on earth to curate pornography for him.—
Daniel Kolitz,
Harpers Magazine,
24 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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Other surveys suggest a much tighter race.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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Heat therapy is most beneficial for pain caused by tight or stiff muscles.—
RikkiLynn Shields Hannigan,
Health,
25 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 29 Oct. 2025.
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