as in selfish
giving or sharing as little as possible
my brother, who is notoriously miserly, surprised us when he offered to pick up the tab
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of miserly
Liverpool’s torpid display at Wembley against Newcastle will have hurt Merseyside pride, but the cost to club coffers is minimal; League Cup compensation is miserly, even for the winners.
—
Chris Weatherspoon, The Athletic, 20 Mar. 2025
Up to then, Wrexham had by far the most miserly defence in League One after conceding just 11 goals in 19 league games — five better than Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town.
—Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
With the arrival of pitchers and catchers, one of the coldest and miserly baseball offseasons in memory is nearing conclusion, and it can’t be understated that, other than the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets (on one player), hardly any team spent any money.
—Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025
One of the things that bedeviled American politics this century is our close elections, which has made our parties and their leaders miserly with their political capital.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for miserly
Chris Weatherspoon, The Athletic, 20 Mar. 2025
Up to then, Wrexham had by far the most miserly defence in League One after conceding just 11 goals in 19 league games — five better than Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town.
—Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
With the arrival of pitchers and catchers, one of the coldest and miserly baseball offseasons in memory is nearing conclusion, and it can’t be understated that, other than the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets (on one player), hardly any team spent any money.
—Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025
One of the things that bedeviled American politics this century is our close elections, which has made our parties and their leaders miserly with their political capital.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for miserly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for miserly
Adjective
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Pope in New York slams ‘selfish’ thirst for power and wealth Pope Francis endorses the Iran nuclear deal at U.N., but his focus remains the poor and vulnerable.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
21 Apr. 2025
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While soccer is a team game, Guardiola instructs players to first focus on excelling personally—to be selfish.—
Rachana Adyanthaya,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Be careful not to let in too much moisture to avoid any mildew or mold developing on your mattress.—
Terry Baddoo,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
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Yet Schlossberg is careful to note that May did not shadow-direct the movie during production.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Best Luggage and Travel Bags Deals The online retailer wasn’t being stingy with its luggage deals.—
Rylee Johnston,
Travel + Leisure,
13 Apr. 2025
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Seattle is typically stingy with first-round grades, and this may be another year in which the team’s board has maybe a dozen or so prospects with Round 1 grades.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Bad guys are selfish, greedy, and prone to speeches.—
John DeVore,
Rolling Stone,
31 Mar. 2025
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Robert Redford delivers folksy wisdom as a local eccentric who once had his own dragon encounter, and even Karl Urban’s greedy logger is more of a nuisance than an outright villain.—
Josh Bell,
Vulture,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But the iPhone 17 Air’s parsimonious speaker holes might suggest a phone with less capable audio.—
David Phelan,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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Some have felt conflicted, but after decades without success and 14 years of soulless drudgery under Mike Ashley’s parsimonious ownership, many were willing to accept anything for the promise or even just the hope of better times.—
Oliver Kay,
The Athletic,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Every year, a complacent, tightfisted city council turned down the recommendations.—
Margaret Talbot,
The New Yorker,
2 Oct. 2023
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Kotick played the tightfisted owner of the Oakland A’s.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
31 May 2023
Adjective
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Often, the responsibility will be held by the mother of the bride, another close female family member, or a few family members together.—
Shelby Wax,
Vogue,
17 Apr. 2025
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And Amanda Marsalis and April Blair are some of my closest friends now.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Perhaps most perplexing about Smash, though, is its weirdly cynical, ungenerous take on the Bombshell herself.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
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Maybe that’s ungenerous, but my patience is running short with Adair.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Miserly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/miserly. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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