frugality

American  

[froo-gal-i-tee] / fruˈgæl ɪ ti /

Also frugalness

noun

• frugalities
  plural

1. the quality of being frugal, or prudent in saving; the lack of wastefulness.

   Many people who have lived through periods of economic deprivation develop lifelong habits of frugality and are almost never tempted by wasteful consumption.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonfrugality
  noun
• overfrugality
  noun
• unfrugality
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• frugalities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of frugality

First recorded in 1525–35; from French frugalité, from Latin frūgālitāt-, stem of frūgālitās, equivalent to frūgāli(s) “economic” + -tās -ty ² ( def. ); see frugal ( def. )

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Explanation

If you try to avoid waste by reusing and repurposing items that most people would throw away, your frugality will save you money. Some people use this word interchangeably with cheapness, but cheapness is an unwillingness to spend, while frugality is an unwillingness to waste. People who show frugality often find ways of making things useful that others do not. Even after the Depression ended, those who lived through it maintained their frugality, using old t-shirts for rags and washed-out cottage cheese containers instead of Tupperware.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frugality frugalities

Inflation-defying frugality is especially easy on the long bike tours that our currency of time allows us.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

I can thank my past self’s frugality here.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

For some Fire followers though, extreme frugality is still the main way to achieve retirement early, and a sacrifice they see as worth it in the long term.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

It’s frugality, yes, but it’s also a tiny self-imposed puzzle, one I’ve grown strangely fond of.

From Salon ● May 12, 2026

The social insects, especially ants, have been sources of all kinds of parables, giving lessons in industry, interdependence, altruism, humility, frugality, patience.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

It stretches from the glorious frugalities of Shaker furniture and Amish quilts to the sleek orthodox Minimalism of Donald Judd’s box sculptures and Agnes Martin’s horizontal-stripe paintings.

From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2011

But this record dictatorship is not all due to the personal virtue and public frugalities of Meritorious Gomez.

From Time Magazine Archive

He hated waste of all kinds, save in words, and carried his home frugalities even to excess.

From Thomas Carlyle by John Nichol

Smyth gives amusing instances of the baron’s frugalities, side by side with his generosity.

From Chaucer and His England by G. G. Coulton

She had been educated by a succession of small and hunted governesses, mostly Swiss, whose remuneration had certainly counted among the frugalities rather than the extravagances of the family budget.

From The Marriage of William Ashe by Mrs. Humphry Ward

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Related Words

• moderation
• prudence
• thrift

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