economical
Americanadjective
-
avoiding waste or extravagance; thrifty.
an economical meal; an economical use of interior space.
- Synonyms:
- parsimonious, sparing, provident, saving
- Antonyms:
- profligate, prodigal, spendthrift, extravagant, wasteful
adjective
-
using the minimum required; not wasteful of time, effort, resources, etc
an economical car
an economical style
-
frugal; thrifty
she was economical by nature
-
euphemistic deliberately withholding information (esp in the phrase economical with the truth )
Related Words
See frugal.
Other Word Forms
- noneconomical adjective
- noneconomically adverb
- preeconomical adjective
- preeconomically adverb
- pseudoeconomical adjective
- pseudoeconomically adverb
- quasi-economical adjective
- quasi-economically adverb
- uneconomical adjective
- uneconomically adverb
Etymology
Origin of economical
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This will obviate the need to travel to entertainment venues and make access economical and on-demand.
“If you’re on a budget, you might be surprised by how economical this one is. It only looks like silk, but really it’s a very practical sateen.”
From Literature
California oil production has been on the decline since the 1980s, largely because existing oil fields are becoming depleted and there are more economical places to produce.
From Los Angeles Times
As a result, researchers have been searching for a more efficient and economical way to produce these exceptionally tough materials.
From Science Daily
Those factors have pushed the costs to build smelters and refineries in the U.S. beyond what is economical for many operations.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
