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

Until an immediate, killer mistake from a normally stingy run defense. Jeremiyah Love took an inside handoff from Leonard, sneaked out, cut left and was gone, 98 yards to the other end zone. —Joe Rexrode, The Athletic, 21 Dec. 2024

The Buccaneers hung 40 points on the NFL’s stingiest defense. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024

Led by a stingy Falcons defense that didn’t allow a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter, forced three turnovers and blocked two punts, Atlanta haunted its former starting quarterback Desmond Ridder and handed the Raiders a 10th straight loss. —Wayne Sterling, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024

How Brunson navigates physical, stingy opposing defenses this season will be critical in the Knicks’ pursuit of an elusive NBA title. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 12 Dec. 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