First Known Use: 1598
Dictionary
parsimonious
adjective par·si·mo·ni·ous \ˌpär-sə-ˈmō-nē-əs\
: very unwilling to spend money
Full Definition of PARSIMONIOUS
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Examples of PARSIMONIOUS
- A society that is parsimonious in its personal charity (in terms of both time and money) will require more government welfare. —William J. Bennett, The Death of Outrage, 1998
- Their merchant princes were supposed to be parsimonious and austere: fustian in apparel and coarse in diet. —Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, 1988
- With saints, Dante is apathetic. They are written with a dry pen, and parsimonious vision. —Robert Lowell, Collected Prose, 1987
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Origin of PARSIMONIOUS
(see parsimony)
Related to PARSIMONIOUS
- Synonyms
- cheap, chintzy, close, closefisted, mean, mingy, miserly, niggard, niggardly, stingy, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, pinchpenny, spare, sparing, stinting, tight, tightfisted, uncharitable, ungenerous
- Antonyms
- bounteous, bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unsparing, unstinting
Synonym Discussion of PARSIMONIOUS
stingy, close, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, miserly mean being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others. stingy implies a marked lack of generosity <a stingy child, not given to sharing>. close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions <folks who are very close when charity calls>. niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible <the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library>. parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess <a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries>. penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty <the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune>. miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding <a miserly couple devoid of social conscience>.
Rhymes with PARSIMONIOUS
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