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parsimonious

[pahr-suh-moh-nee-uh s]
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adjective
  1. characterized by or showing parsimony; frugal or stingy.
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Origin of parsimonious

First recorded in 1590–1600; parsimon(y) + -ious
Related formspar·si·mo·ni·ous·ly, adverbpar·si·mo·ni·ous·ness, nounun·par·si·mo·ni·ous, adjectiveun·par·si·mo·ni·ous·ly, adverb

Synonyms

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tight, close, niggardly, miserly, illiberal, mean, penurious; avaricious, covetous.

Synonym study

See stingy1.

Antonyms

generous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for parsimoniously

Historical Examples

  • Many of our denominational colleges are parsimoniously sustained.

    Colleges in America

    John Marshall Barker

  • The Scottish king was poor, ill-housed, parsimoniously served, meagerly guarded.

  • Inferior coal, parsimoniously stoked, took the water-heater a long time to get going.

    Paris Vistas

    Helen Davenport Gibbons

  • Did they think that the cross, given hitherto so parsimoniously to civilians, was not meant for the police?

  • Isolated in its narrow chamber, each grub nibbles the substance around it, peacefully and parsimoniously.

    A Book of Exposition

    Homer Heath Nugent

Word Origin and History for parsimoniously

parsimonious

adj.

1590s, from Latin parsimonia "frugality, thrift" (see parsimony) + -ous. Not originally with the suggestion of stinginess. Related: Parsimoniously; parsimoniousness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper