SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
miserly
adjective
Excessively unwilling to spend or share money or resources.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Excessively ungenerous
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topMiserly criticizes excessive reluctance to spend; frugal usually praises avoiding unnecessary waste.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See miserly in use
A miserly approach to essential repairs left the meeting room unusable.
A tutor who had bought paper for the course submitted receipts for reimbursement, asking to recover the amount she had already spent. The treasurer approved that request but resisted replacing any broken pencils despite a comfortable supply budget, a miserly response to a small and necessary expense.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license