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

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. )

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

In his piece this week, Adam Chandler writes that the frugality of Costco’s free samples and jumbo boxes of all manner of things serves as a unifying quality.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 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

This woebegone era of frugality hath come to its end.

From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026

The frugality in “Hag” is apparent from its modest start.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026

What does she think, that the Walton family is living in some hidden room in the back of the store, in the utmost frugality, and likely to be ruined by $21 worth of wasted labor?

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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

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

From Chaucer and His England by G. G. Coulton

He questioned M. Nioche about his own manner of life, and felt a friendly mixture of compassion and respect over the recital of his delicate frugalities.

From The American by Henry James

Mrs. Megilp made up her little varnishes with the genuine gums of truth and wisdom; she put a beautiful shine even on to her limited opportunities and her enforced frugalities.

From Real Folks by A. D. T. (Adeline Dutton Train) Whitney

Related Words

• moderation
• prudence
• thrift