adjective
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stingy or ungenerous
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meagre
a niggardly salary
adverb
Sensitive Note
See niggard.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of niggardly
Explanation
While this looks like a certain racial slur, it's really just a way of saying meager, stingy or ungenerous. If you get a niggardly share of cake, it means someone gave you a very small piece. This word is so close to a nasty racial slur that people have gotten in trouble for using it correctly. The words are not related in any way, they just sound alike. If you use the word niggardly, and someone is taken aback or offended, they either misheard you or don't know what they are talking about. In this situation, aim for generosity. Don't be niggardly with patience and understanding of their ignorance.
Vocabulary lists containing niggardly
Twelfth Night
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
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East of Eden
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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.
The Editorial Board opinion piece on the niggardly food assistance policy and its bungled inflexible implementation in Puerto Rico was important.
From New York Times ● Nov. 10, 2017
An administrator in Washington, D.C.’s Office of the Public Advocate had to resign in 1999 for using the word niggardly in a staff meeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2015
In 1999, David Howard, a white Washington, D.C., agency director, famously resigned amid the outcry following his use of the word niggardly in reference to a budget matter.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2012
Entering Ephesus is about being adolescent in that family, and the author manages to make most practitioners in the crowded coming-of-age field seem calculating and niggardly indeed.
From Time Magazine Archive
Lord Tywin might have been niggardly with his approval and affection, but he had al-ways been open-handed when it came to coin.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
