adjective
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niggardly with money
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lacking money or means
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yielding little; scanty
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of penurious
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Medieval Latin pēnūriōsus, from Latin paenūria, pēnūria penury + -ous ( def. )
Explanation
Don't have two nickels to rub together? You're penurious — a lovely long way of saying you're flat broke. Penurious also means a general dislike of spending money. If someone accuses you of being cheap, tell them you prefer to be thought of as penurious. It sounds so much classier. It's related to a similar word, penury, which means "a state of extreme poverty."
Vocabulary lists containing penurious
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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100 SAT words Beginning with "P"
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Never Enough: Synonyms for "Greedy"
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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.
Even so, the general picture of a mother’s absence and a daughter’s understandable resentment at having had to pick up the maternal slack in penurious conditions comes through loud and clear.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 14, 2024
There his followers learn about his penurious childhood and his own children's lives.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2023
China is increasingly likely to grow old before it gets rich, consigning hundreds of millions of Chinese to a penurious and often lonely old age.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2023
As three penurious gold prospectors, and Lloyd a conservative party activist, the 1910 climbers cherished their departed Republican, William McKinley.
From The Guardian • Nov. 8, 2018
In proof of his penurious disposition, it is recorded of him that he invariably dined alone, and a soiled proof sheet, or an old newspaper, was his common substitute for a table-cloth.
From Curiosities of Human Nature by Anonymous
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.
