How to Use miserly in a Sentence
miserly
adjective- He was given a miserly raise.
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The late-October day was peeled and cool; the light was miserly by six, the last remnants clawed in weak scratches across the sky.
—Kevin Barry, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2016
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Some people are rich but miserly; most people are lazy and in debt.
—Edmund White, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
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Partly as a result, the stock trades for a miserly three times earnings.
—John Dorfman, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2022
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Why not? — Potter is the miserly ogre with a stranglehold on the town of Bedford Falls.
—John Hirschauer, National Review, 25 Dec. 2019
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The very name Scrooge has become a global synonym for stingy or miserly….
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2022
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Scrooge, of course, starts the story as a miserly grouch, and ends it charitably.
—Michael Paulson, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2019
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The risk for automakers is that gas prices will spike and consumers will want more fuel-miserly cars again.
—Eric D. Lawrence, USA TODAY, 26 Apr. 2018
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But even more significant than the causes of those miserly years at Wrigley Field was the effect.
—Brian Costa, WSJ, 4 Nov. 2016
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Lost jobs mean no money for rent, at least with our miserly welfare system.
—Lauren Sandler, Time, 28 May 2021
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Eighty-foot-tall trees growing in a narrow tree lawn ― that miserly little strip between the street and the sidewalk ― means that at least one side of the tree can't put down much in the way of roots.
—Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 8 Mar. 2023
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The tax credit for these startup expenses is currently capped at a miserly $500 per year for the first three years.
—Robert C. Pozen, WSJ, 19 Nov. 2018
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If even the most miserly, miserable of characters has the potential for change, then so too does the reader.
—Laura Zornosa, Time, 18 Nov. 2022
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The Reserve Bank of Australia is hoping Aussies don't get too complacent about their miserly pay gains.
—Chris Bourke, Bloomberg.com, 21 June 2017
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Then, as president, Trump made not the slightest effort to raise the minimum wage, which remains the same miserly $7.25 an hour.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 19 Sep. 2023
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From my experience, there is nobody more miserly than the FBI.
—John Sipher, Slate Magazine, 11 Sep. 2017
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The law says that miserly little one-time death benefit can only be paid to a surviving spouse.
—Tom Margenau, Dallas News, 6 Dec. 2020
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The song, in which Scrooge’s young love bids him a tearful goodbye due to his miserly ways, was cut from the film’s original theatrical release.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 11 Dec. 2022
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Many customers were insulted by the miserly, one-time rebates CPS announced in April.
—Greg Jefferson, San Antonio Express-News, 11 June 2021
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Opt for the miserly gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain and the Camry returns up to 52 mpg combined, per the EPA.
—Nicholas Wallace, Car and Driver, 21 Mar. 2023
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To pay for the odyssey across seven countries, Mr. Alejos sold his repair shop in his hometown of Barquisimeto in northern Venezuela for the miserly sum of $750.
—Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2022
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Mileage-miserly Japanese cars got a firm foothold in the American market.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2022
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The message, inhospitable and miserly, feels far away from the world of Nichols’s graceful domestic images.
—Sarah Blackwood, The New Yorker, 18 July 2021
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Enter Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old man who is visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve.
—CBS News, 21 Dec. 2019
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Romano loaded the bases with no outs in the first – hurt a bit by some miserly umpiring by Pat Hoberg – but managed to allow just one run to score, on a sacrifice fly.
—Zach Buchanan, Cincinnati.com, 22 Sep. 2017
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Newell’s Ghost of Christmas Present, a more hectoring spirit, will take over to reveal the tragic consequence of a miserly life.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2021
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Viewed from a certain miserly angle, this may sound fiscally clever.
—Michael Taylor, San Antonio Express-News, 29 Sep. 2021
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Directing the classic tale about four ghosts visiting a miserly old man on Christmas Eve is something Audrain has wanted to do for a long time.
—Sheryl Devore, chicagotribune.com, 17 Nov. 2021
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Broadway Rose offers a musical version of the timeless story of a miserly man forced to face his selfish ways when three ghosts lead him through his Past, Present and Future.
—oregonlive, 24 Nov. 2021
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Among those who bowled at least 300 deliveries, only four conceded runs at a more miserly rate.
—M.j., The Economist, 18 July 2019
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'miserly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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