Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective miserly contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of miserly are close, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, and stingy. While all these words mean "being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others," miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

When can close be used instead of miserly?

Although the words close and miserly have much in common, 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 niggardly instead of miserly?

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

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

Where would parsimonious be a reasonable alternative to miserly?

The synonyms parsimonious and miserly are sometimes interchangeable, but parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

When would penurious be a good substitute for miserly?

The words penurious and miserly can be used in similar contexts, but penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

When is stingy a more appropriate choice than miserly?

While in some cases nearly identical to miserly, 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 miserly The show finds Homer desperate to scrape together enough money to pay for a fun family Christmas after his miserly boss, Mr. Burns, cancelled the holiday bonus and Marge had to empty the piggy bank to remove a tattoo that Bart had gotten at the mall. Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024 The book is a 92-page novel about Scrooge, a miserly man transformed into a better person after the ghost of Marley, his former partner, and three Spirits visit him on Christmas Eve and show him his past, present, and future. Jennifer Borresen, USA TODAY, 22 Dec. 2024 The reinvention still follows the familiar beats of Scrooge's Christmas haunting: Three ghosts, each representing Christmas past (Andy Serkis), present (Charlotte Riley), and future (Jason Flemyng) show the miserly businessman the error of his ways. Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024 Smart Care can free up valuable storage space, an important function considering most Macs come with miserly amounts of storage. Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for miserly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for miserly
Adjective
  • Just his demeanor, the way he was still connected with us, not really playing selfish in any way.
    Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 8 Mar. 2025
  • Raq is a master manipulator who claims to value loyalty above all else, especially from her henchmen brothers Marvin (London Brown) and Lou (Malcolm Mays) and her only son, yet constantly destabilizes the three of them with selfish mind games and power plays that genuinely harm them.
    Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • These concerns underscore the need for careful consideration of privacy rights when deploying such technology.
    Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Rendering animal fat requires careful heating and purification to remove impurities.
    Boutayna Chokrane, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Endowments are likely to become even more important as the federal government gets stingier with its support for higher education.
    Emma Whitford, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • The game matches the conference’s highest-scoring offense (New Mexico at 82.9 points per game) against its stingiest defense (SDSU at 63.1).
    Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The family drama comedy follows a Gen Z content creator who returns to her ancestral home for viral content, only to encounter her deceased brother’s ghost and deal with greedy relatives.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Along that greedy path, he has been sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission three separate times.
    DP Opinion, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
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
  • Many close followers of Barca have remarked on how players seem to understand what the coach wants of them perfectly, which had not always been the case in previous seasons.
    Laia Cervelló Herrero, The Athletic, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The most impactful shows were smaller in format, allowing for a closer appreciation of the pieces and the skill behind them.
    Rhonda Richford, WWD, 12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • But neither can anyone seriously accuse the United States of being ungenerous with its citizens’ lives and treasure or of having no ideals.
    Joshua Landis, Foreign Affairs, 19 Jan. 2016
  • This is the problem with the show: These women are just concocting reasons why the people on the other side suck, and it’s become the most uncharitable, the most ungenerous thing on Bravo.
    Brian Moylan, Vulture, 15 July 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Miserly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/miserly. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.

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