close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.
folks who are very close when charity calls
niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.
the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library
parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.
a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries
penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.
the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune
miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.
a miserly couple devoid of social conscience
Example Sentences
The penurious school system had to lay off several teachers. the company's penurious management could not be convinced of the need to earmark more money for research and development
Recent Examples on the WebWhen his sports career petered out, Thorpe kept hustling to make an increasingly penurious living. Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2022 Her father had left high school at 14 to support his penurious mother and work as a delivery boy in a cotton trading company.New York Times, 20 Apr. 2022 Beyond its penurious powertrain, the Prime's disinterested driving demeanor extends to its steering, which is light and numb. Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 8 Apr. 2022 In 1877, when young H.G. (called Bertie) was 11, his father fell off a ladder and began a penurious, cricket-free convalescence. Stephanie Burt, The New Republic, 29 Mar. 2022 Owners will claim that competitive imbalance is on the verge of ruining the game, never mind the 21 World Series participants since 2001 years, including the electively penurious Tampa Bay Rays. Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2021 An earnest rebuild is underway, but like all before it, the success will be in spite of penurious ownership. Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 13 Nov. 2021 That would be their home away from home, Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, an opulent flat for which penurious tenant Fredo Spanos pays a flat $1-per-year rental fee. Nick Canepa Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2021 Jobs in universities, media, publishing, and think tanks offered former bohemians and penurious toilers money and social status. Pankaj Mishra, The New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2021 See More