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.
Prices for the battery metal have crashed 90% since 2022, and Australia’s mines proved more economical than Chile’s brine extraction methods.
From Barron's
“Louvre Heist” is an economical and fairly breathless dash around the French capital, the crime scene and the details of the as-yet-unsolved robbery.
Kumaran said the practice began with tailgaters wanting a more economical way of ordering the quantities they needed for game day.
While Delta’s main cabin revenue fell 5% for the June quarter compared to a year ago, premium ticket sales rose 5%, highlighting the divide between affluent customers and those forced to be more economical.
From Los Angeles Times
"My grandfather's generation was very frugal, very thrifty. It is part of Chinese tradition. For Chinese people to be economical is in their bones," she says.
From BBC
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.
