stingy

[stin-jee]

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adjective, stin·gi·er, stin·gi·est.

reluctant to give or spend; not generous; niggardly; penurious: He's a stingy old miser.
scanty or meager: a stingy little income.

Origin of stingy

1650–60; perhaps derivative of sting; see -y¹

Related formsstin·gi·ly, adverbstin·gi·ness, noun

Synonyms for stingy

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1. tight. 2. sparse, paltry, poor.

Synonym study

1. Stingy, parsimonious, miserly, mean, close all mean reluctant to part with money or goods. Stingy, the most general of these terms, means unwilling to share, give, or spend possessions or money: children who are stingy with their toys; a stingy, grasping skinflint. Parsimonious describes an extreme stinginess arising from unusual or excessive frugality: a sternly parsimonious, penny-pinching existence. Miserly stresses a pathological pleasure in acquiring and hoarding money that is so powerful that even necessities are only grudgingly purchased: a wretched, miserly way of life. Mean suggests a small-minded, ignoble, petty stinginess leading to miserable, cheerless living: depressingly mean with his money; mean surroundings; a mean repast. Close implies extreme caution in spending money, even an aversion to spending: a close dealer, buying only at rock bottom prices; generous with advice, but very close with his money.

Antonyms for stingy

1. generous.

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

Related Words for stinginess

frugality, austerity, prudence, avarice, malice, greed, self-indulgence, intimacy, proximity, recession, moderation, thrift, parsimony, rapacity, avidity, cupidity, covetousness, stinginess, miserliness, greediness

Examples from the Web for stinginess

Contemporary Examples of stinginess

Players can use the “Jewish stinginess” card to force competitors to hand over resources.
Dutch Board Game Lets You Settle Canaan
Peter Beinart
March 15, 2012
Republican stinginess—relative stinginess, as all the proposals will cost massive amounts—could yield political dividends.
How Republicans Can Steal Health Care
Reihan Salam
June 9, 2009

Historical Examples of stinginess

By what miracle of stinginess had she been able to save such a sum?
Doctor Pascal
Emile Zola
His stinginess bordered on avarice, and he had never changed his trade.
Criminal Man
Gina Lombroso-Ferrero
He mercilessly pillories his patrons in a row for their stinginess.
Erasmus and the Age of Reformation
Johan Huizinga
It's not economy: it's not stinginess; they are not paying off their debts.
White Lies
Charles Reade
There was not an iota of stinginess in his habitual economy.
The Printer Boy.
William M. Thayer

British Dictionary definitions for stinginess

stingy

adjective -gier or -giest

unwilling to spend or give
insufficient or scanty

Derived Formsstingily, adverbstinginess, noun

Word Origin for stingy

C17 (perhaps in the sense: ill-tempered): perhaps from stinge, dialect variant of sting

stingy

adjective stingier or stingiest

informal stinging or capable of stinging

noun plural stingies

South Wales dialect a stinging nettleI put my hand on a stingy

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 stinginess

stingy

adj.

"niggardly, penurious, tight-fisted," 1650s, possibly a dialectal alteration of earlier stingy "biting, sharp, stinging" (1610s), from sting (v.). Back-formation stinge "a stingy person" is recorded from 1914.