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niggardly

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adverb

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective niggardly contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of niggardly are close, miserly, parsimonious, penurious, and stingy. While all these words mean "being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others," niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

When can close be used instead of niggardly?

Although the words close and niggardly have much in common, close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.

folks who are very close when charity calls

When is it sensible to use miserly instead of niggardly?

The meanings of miserly and niggardly largely overlap; however, miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

Where would parsimonious be a reasonable alternative to niggardly?

The synonyms parsimonious and niggardly are sometimes interchangeable, but parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

When could penurious be used to replace niggardly?

While in some cases nearly identical to niggardly, penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

When would stingy be a good substitute for niggardly?

The words stingy and niggardly can be used in similar contexts, but stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of niggardly
Adjective
Many Chileans are angry about the country’s unequal distribution of wealth and power, about niggardly pensions (for which people are supposed to save themselves) and about long waiting times for doctors’ visits and poor schools. The Economist, 25 Dec. 2019 To tap one of the country’s two largest and most niggardly mines is hard enough. The Economist, 3 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for niggardly
Adjective
  • With the arrival of pitchers and catchers, one of the coldest and miserly baseball offseasons in memory is nearing conclusion, and it can’t be understated that, other than the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets (on one player), hardly any team spent any money.
    Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025
  • One of the things that bedeviled American politics this century is our close elections, which has made our parties and their leaders miserly with their political capital.
    Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Track position is everything on a circuit as unforgiving as Monaco, where overtaking opportunities are scarce.
    Kanzah Maktoum, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
  • Inventory space is scarce, so this is really a last resort, as most of Lucy’s backpack should be filled with food and water.
    Issy van der Velde, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Under Jones’ careful direction, the Bulldogs do not beat themselves.
    Jim Root, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025
  • Effective brainstorming sessions require careful planning and prep.
    Nora Herting, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • His words, though often sparse and cryptic, usually mattered more than those of his counterparts, fueling a political mystique of infallibility.
    Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2025
  • His characteristically sparse prose only makes this portrait of a necrophiliac serial killer haunting the hill country of eastern Tennessee that much more disturbing: Lester Ballard makes Norman Bates look like Beaver Cleaver.
    M.L. Rio, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Continuous Development And Growth Never be lax or stingy about ongoing training, coaching and development opportunities for team members.
    Levi King, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
  • That’s nearly 14 percent better than Georgia normally shoots and nearly 20 percent better than the usually stingy Gators allow.
    Joe Rexrode, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • To attribute the corrosion of institutional trust to such bugbears as relativism or postmodernism is to ignore explanations that are both more concrete and more parsimonious.
    Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025
  • In a perfect and parsimonious world, a single two-stage spacecraft would land on Mars, scoop up soil samples in situ, and transfer them to an ascent stage which would blast off into orbit.
    Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Liberals without children fear they are seen as selfish careerists or libertines.
    Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Dropping this much weight in such a short amount of time is both dangerous and, according to his teammates, selfish.
    Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • But longtime close watchers of Epstein and his legal ordeal made the case in a series of posts on X that such a list may never emerge.
    Chad de Guzman, TIME, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Starmer’s deal would send the island chain to Mauritius, a former British colony and current close ally of China.
    Naomi Lim, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Niggardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/niggardly. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

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