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definitions

miserly

[mahy-zer-lee]
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adjective

of, like, or befitting a miser; penurious; stingy; niggardly.

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RELATED WORDS

tightfisted, abject, avaricious, beggarly, churlish, close, covetous, grasping, ignoble, illiberal, mean, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, skinflint, sordid, ungenerous, cheapskate, close-fisted

Nearby words

  1. miserable,
  2. miserably,
  3. miserere,
  4. misericord,
  5. misericords,
  6. misery,
  7. misery index,
  8. misery loves company,
  9. misesteem,
  10. misestimate

Origin of miserly

First recorded in 1585–95; miser + -ly
ANTONYMS FOR miserly
generous.
SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR miserly ON THESAURUS.COM
Related formsmi·ser·li·ness, nounun·mi·ser·ly, adjective

Synonym study

See stingy1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for miserly

British Dictionary definitions for miserly

miserly

adjective

of or resembling a miser; avaricious
Derived Formsmiserliness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for miserly

miserly

adj.

1590s, from miser + -ly (1). Related: Miserliness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper