penurious
adjective
pe·nu·ri·ous pə-ˈnu̇r-ē-əs 
-ˈnyu̇r-
1
: marked by or suffering from penury
penurious peasants and fisherfolk
2
: given to or marked by extreme stinting frugality
penuriously adverb
penuriousness noun
Synonyms
- cheap
- chintzy
- close
- closefisted
- mean
- mingy
- miserly
- niggard
- niggardly
- parsimonious
- penny-pinching
- pinching
- pinchpenny
- spare
- sparing
- stingy
- stinting
- tight
- tightfisted
- uncharitable
- ungenerous
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
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 Web When 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
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 Word History
First Known Use
1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1
penurious
adjective
1
as in ungenerous
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
Relevance
- ungenerous
- selfish
- miserly
- tightfisted
- greedy
- parsimonious
- careful
- stingy
- mingy
- niggard
- penny-pinching
- uncharitable
- chintzy
- niggardly
- desirous
- pinching
- cheap
- tight
- stinting
- economical
- close
- mean
- pinchpenny
- frugal
- sparing
- thrifty
- economizing
- avaricious
- conserving
- closefisted
- spare
- small
- mercenary
- hoggish
- covetous
- saving
- acquisitive
- chary
- scrimping
- sordid
- shabby
- rapacious
- skimping
- resentful
- grudging
- envious
- avid
- begrudging
- itchy
- coveting
- grasping
- inhospitable
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- generous
- liberal
- munificent
- charitable
- bounteous
- bountiful
- openhanded
- unsparing
- altruistic
- unselfish
- extravagant
- unstinting
- selfless
- lavish
- handsome
- benevolent
- overgenerous
- free
- hospitable
- profuse
- philanthropic
- beneficent
- magnanimous
- philanthropical
- humanitarian
- freehanded
- unthrifty
- compassionate
- kindly
- profligate
- spendthrift
- openhearted
- wasteful
- prodigal
- thriftless
- greathearted
- wasting
- good-hearted
- squandering
- dissipating
- 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
- beggared
- impecunious
- penniless
- indigent
- needy
- bankrupt
- necessitous
- destitute
- beggarly
- famished
- needful
- deprived
- pauperized
- bankrupted
- depressed
- skint
- threadbare
- dirt-poor
- poverty-stricken
- hard up
- down-and-out
- disadvantaged
- underprivileged
- distressed
- dispossessed
- ruined
- out of pocket
- down on one's luck
- out at the elbows
- out at elbows
- straitened
- insolvent
- reduced
- bust
- pinched
- busted
- hardscrabble
- short
- unaffluent
- poorish
- low
- cash-strapped
- hand-to-mouth
- possessionless
- tapped out
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- wealthy
- affluent
- moneyed
- rich
- opulent
- monied
- fat
- well-to-do
- flush
- well-off
- well-heeled
- prosperous
- comfortable
- fat-cat
- deep-pocketed
- silk-stocking
Synonym Chooser
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
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
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
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
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
The meanings of stingy and penurious largely overlap; however, stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.
a stingy child, not given to sharing
- plain concrete
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- plain counterpoint
- plain dealing
- plain flour
- plain hunt
- plain hunting
- plain Jane
- plain Janes
- plain knit
- plain knitting
- plain language
- plain live axle
- plain muscle
- Plain of Mars
- Plain People
- plain sail
- plain sailing
- plain seam
- plain sequence
- plain service
- plain stitch
- plain suit
- plain tire
- plain turkey