Synonyms of penurious

penurious

adjective

pə-ˈnu̇r-ē-əs 

1

as in selfish

giving or sharing as little as possible

the company's penurious management could not be convinced of the need to earmark more money for research and development

Synonyms & Similar Words

• selfish
• careful
• greedy
• ungenerous
• miserly
• parsimonious
• tightfisted
• stingy
• tight
• cheap
• desirous
• uncharitable
• penny-pinching
• chintzy
• close
• niggardly
• pinching
• mean
• mingy
• economical
• niggard
• sparing
• spare
• frugal
• conserving
• thrifty
• small
• stinting
• avaricious
• pinchpenny
• mercenary
• saving
• covetous
• chary
• closefisted
• economizing
• acquisitive
• hoggish
• sordid
• shabby
• rapacious
• resentful
• grudging
• avid
• envious
• itchy
• begrudging
• inhospitable
• scrimping
• grasping
• skimping
• coveting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• generous
• liberal
• charitable
• munificent
• bounteous
• bountiful
• unsparing
• openhanded
• altruistic
• unselfish
• extravagant
• unstinting
• selfless
• lavish
• handsome
• free
• benevolent
• overgenerous
• hospitable
• profuse
• philanthropic
• beneficent
• humanitarian
• magnanimous
• philanthropical
• freehanded
• compassionate
• kindly
• unthrifty
• openhearted
• wasteful
• profligate
• spendthrift
• prodigal
• good-hearted
• wasting
• thriftless
• greathearted
• dissipating
• squandering
• frittering
• splurging

2

as in impoverished

lacking money or material possessions

the most penurious members of the community are forced to depend on the services of the food bank

Synonyms & Similar Words

• impoverished
• poor
• broke
• impecunious
• beggared
• penniless
• indigent
• bankrupt
• needy
• necessitous
• needful
• destitute
• beggarly
• deprived
• famished
• dirt-poor
• down-and-out
• pauperized
• poverty-stricken
• depressed
• threadbare
• bankrupted
• skint
• hard up
• out of pocket
• disadvantaged
• out at elbows
• out at the elbows
• underprivileged
• distressed
• dispossessed
• ruined
• down on one's luck
• insolvent
• unaffluent
• straitened
• pinched
• bust
• busted
• hand-to-mouth
• hardscrabble
• reduced
• cash-strapped
• short
• poorish
• possessionless
• low
• tapped out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealthy
• rich
• affluent
• moneyed
• well-to-do
• opulent
• monied
• fat
• flush
• well-off
• fat-cat
• prosperous
• well-heeled
• comfortable
• silk-stocking
• deep-pocketed

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective penurious contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of penurious are close, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, and stingy. While all these words mean "being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others," penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

Where would close be a reasonable alternative to penurious?

While the synonyms close and penurious are close in meaning, close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.

folks who are very close when charity calls

When might miserly be a better fit than penurious?

While in some cases nearly identical to penurious, miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

When is it sensible to use niggardly instead of penurious?

Although the words niggardly and penurious have much in common, niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

In what contexts can parsimonious take the place of penurious?

The words parsimonious and penurious can be used in similar contexts, but parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

When can stingy be used instead of penurious?

The meanings of stingy and penurious largely overlap; however, stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of penurious

Both album and turntable were all the rage, and the Technics was the first quality direct-drive turntable that a penurious college student could afford. —Robert Ross, Robb Report, 20 Mar. 2024

There are resentful relatives, penurious relatives, conniving relatives, no relatives, and loved ones denied input because they are not related. —Dan Barry, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024

The book looks beyond Appalachia, concluding the regions in question had been exploited by single industries and white elites, paying poor wages with equally penurious working conditions. —Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 13 Aug. 2023

When his sports career petered out, Thorpe kept hustling to make an increasingly penurious living. —Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2022