frugality

noun

fru·​gal·​i·​ty frü-ˈga-lə-tē 

: the quality or state of being frugal : careful management of material resources and especially money : thrift

For these renters, the philosophy is more about having it all … than it is about hardship or frugality.

—Roya Wolverson

The conference table, like all the company's desks, is made of a door bolted to two-by-fours, a deliberate message of frugality to employees of a company that is losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

—Saul Hansell

Synonyms

• economy
• husbandry
• parsimony
• penny-pinching
• providence
• scrimping
• skimping
• thrift

Examples of frugality in a Sentence

her lifelong frugality has enabled her to save enough money to go to college next year

Recent Examples on the Web

Hooded eyes, a linear slash for a mouth, a square jaw, a tousle of hair — the startling frugality of lines that bring the dying sitter to full life embodies the knowing depth of the couple’s relationship. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025

But while the fine dining scene is flourishing, the everyday staples still tell a story of hardship, frugality, and a desire to waste nothing. —David Nikel, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025

In the meantime, people could do worse than to embrace some prudence and frugality. —Erik Sherman, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025

But while the fine dining scene is flourishing, the everyday staples still tell a story of hardship, frugality, and a desire to waste nothing. —David Nikel, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French frugalité, borrowed from Latin frūgālitāt-, frūgālitās "steadiness of life, temperance, self-restraint," from frūgāl-, base of frūgālior and frūgālissimus, comparative and superlative degrees of frūgī "having merit or worth, deserving, sober, thrifty" + -itāt-, -itās -ity — more at frugal

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for frugality

• banality
• bestiality
• brutality
• carnality
• centrality
• chirality
• duality
• fatality
• finality
• formality
• legality
• lethality