stingy

adjective

stin·​gy ˈstin-jē 

stingier; stingiest

1

: not generous or liberal : sparing or scant in using, giving, or spending

stingy with the salt

stingy employee benefits

2

: meanly scanty or small

stingy portions of meat

stingily

ˈstin-jə-lē 

adverb

stinginess

ˈstin-jē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• cheap
• chintzy
• close
• closefisted
• mean
• mingy
• miserly
• niggard
• niggardly
• parsimonious
• penny-pinching
• penurious
• pinching
• pinchpenny
• spare
• sparing
• stinting
• tight
• tightfisted
• uncharitable
• ungenerous

Choose the Right Synonym for stingy

stingy, close, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, miserly mean being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others.

stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.

folks who are very close when charity calls

niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

Examples of stingy in a Sentence

The company was too stingy to raise salaries.

until his redemption, Ebenezer Scrooge is the classic example of a very stingy, heartless miser

Recent Examples on the Web

The drugstore industry has problems, including stingier reimbursement from insurers on drug sales, competition from online retailers, Walmart and Target, and a rise in merchandise theft. —John Dorfman, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

Featuring the top two stingiest scoring defenses in the NFL, Sunday’s game (10 a.m. PDT, Ch. 2) is likely to be a slugfest. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2024

With just three weeks on the books, NFL defenses are now giving up a stingy 21.2 points per game, down 6% from the year-ago 22.5 and off another 10% versus 23.6 points just three years ago. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 27 Sep. 2024

That kind of stingy funding was never going to be adequate, and the price is only likely to rise. —Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 25 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from English dialect *stinge, noun, sting; akin to Old English stingan to sting

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

stingy

adjective

stin·​gy ˈstin-jē 

stingier; stingiest

1

: not generous : giving, using, or spending as little as possible

2

: scanty, meager

a stingy portion

stingily

-jə-lē 

adverb

stinginess

-jē-nəs 

noun