stingy

¹ American  

[stin-jee] / ˈstɪn dʒi /

adjective

stingier, stingiest

1. reluctant to give or spend; not generous; penurious.

   He's a stingy old miser.

   Synonyms:

   tight

   Antonyms:

   unselfish, liberal, generous

2. scanty or meager.

   a stingy little income.

   Synonyms:

   poor, paltry, sparse

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stingy ² American  

[sting-ee] / ˈstɪŋ i /

adjective

1. having a sting.

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stingy ¹ British  

/ ˈstɪndʒɪ /

adjective

1. unwilling to spend or give

2. insufficient or scanty

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stingy ² British  

/ ˈstɪŋɪ /

adjective

1. informal stinging or capable of stinging

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noun

1. dialect a stinging nettle

   I put my hand on a stingy

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• stingily adverb
• stinginess noun

Etymology

Origin of stingy¹

First recorded in 1650–60; perhaps derivative of sting; -y ¹

Origin of stingy²

First recorded in 1605–15; sting + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Mr. Cook’s film is relatively stingy in this regard—offering about five minutes of the Emersons’ final performance, of Schubert’s String Quintet—and struggles to determine what might meaningfully take the place of pure performance.

From The Wall Street Journal

When employers cut jobs because of weak demand, they typically also become stingier with wages for those who remain employed.

From Barron's

And the defense morphed into the stingiest unit in the entire sport.

From The Wall Street Journal

In terms of allowing opponents into their own 22, Scotland were stingy and ranked first, the problem being that they conceded way too often - 40% of visits ended with a try for their rivals.

From BBC

I hoped the engineer wouldn’t be stingy with the whistle.

From Literature

Related Words

• frugal
• greedy
• miserly
• selfish
• thrifty