as in miserly
giving or sharing as little as possible
the company is pretty tightfisted when it comes to bonuses
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tightfisted
Diplomats from neighboring countries, Afghans overseas and U.N. officials have all called on the United States to relax its tightfisted approach.
—
Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 June 2022
Dobie’s cantankerous, tightfisted father and sweet, harebrained mother were played by the characters actors Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus.
—Margalit Fox, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2022
The ambience reflects Hankey’s tightfisted approach to his seven companies, which include a Toyota dealership, a dealer management software developer and Midway Car Rental, which does a big business renting exotic cars.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021
The Heiress Hunt is about two strong-willed individuals learning to wrest the tightfisted control that has dictated their lives (and their success).
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2021
See All Example Sentences for tightfisted
Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 22 June 2022
Dobie’s cantankerous, tightfisted father and sweet, harebrained mother were played by the characters actors Frank Faylen and Florida Friebus.
—Margalit Fox, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2022
The ambience reflects Hankey’s tightfisted approach to his seven companies, which include a Toyota dealership, a dealer management software developer and Midway Car Rental, which does a big business renting exotic cars.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021
The Heiress Hunt is about two strong-willed individuals learning to wrest the tightfisted control that has dictated their lives (and their success).
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2021
See All Example Sentences for tightfisted
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tightfisted
Adjective
-
At his sentencing in 2024, Bailyn, the prosecutor, described Lorquet as a greedy criminal who fleeced his country at one of its weakest moments in history.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
8 June 2026
-
The Democratic Party was being greedy.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Both can be selfish, and both can be hard to see clearly on your own.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
12 June 2026
-
Maeve could be selfish and self-deluding.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
Koenig’s former Yankees teammates were contemptuous of that miserly decision.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
The film is set in Mumbai and built around a miserly protagonist whose circumstances spiral into escalating absurdity.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This is the most parsimonious way to account for the unified nature of consciousness, according to subcorticalists.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
28 May 2026
-
What fraction visible at basically every U.S. gas station originated as a parsimonious response to a 1932 one-penny gas tax?—
Drew Goins,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Sparks end a three-game losing streak with an 89-72 win over expansion Portland, delivering their stingiest defensive performance of the season.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
Give full answers, and don’t be stingy with detail.—
Phil Blair,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
Suzanne’s ungenerous view of herself is one of many misperceptions that will be overturned—some gently, some not.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
26 May 2026
-
Here’s the resulting exchange: RC Women writers frequently adopt a tone or an attitude toward their female characters which is somewhat negative and ungenerous.—
Emily Temple,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
The 7th Assembly District produced one of the region’s tightest races.—
Evelyn Ronan,
Sacbee.com,
10 June 2026
-
Pelvic floor disorders can occur when these muscles and tissues are too weak or too tight or don’t facilitate the proper functioning of these organs for other reasons.—
Stacey Colino,
Time,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
There’s a cast of wanderers, visionaries, and itinerants, the self-educated and self-published, a long lineage of cranks and outcasts, mostly penurious, always opinionated, stretching away into the mists of pseudohistory.—
Hari Kunzru,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Then the usually penurious Indians suddenly splurged.—
Chuck Murr,
Forbes.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tightfisted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tightfisted. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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