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niggardly

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adverb

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective niggardly contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of niggardly are close, miserly, parsimonious, penurious, and stingy. While all these words mean "being unwilling or showing unwillingness to share with others," niggardly implies giving or spending the very smallest amount possible.

the niggardly amount budgeted for the town library

When can close be used instead of niggardly?

Although the words close and niggardly have much in common, close suggests keeping a tight grip on one's money and possessions.

folks who are very close when charity calls

When is it sensible to use miserly instead of niggardly?

The meanings of miserly and niggardly largely overlap; however, miserly suggests a sordid avariciousness and a morbid pleasure in hoarding.

a miserly couple devoid of social conscience

Where would parsimonious be a reasonable alternative to niggardly?

The synonyms parsimonious and niggardly are sometimes interchangeable, but parsimonious suggests a frugality so extreme as to lead to stinginess.

a parsimonious lifestyle notably lacking in luxuries

When could penurious be used to replace niggardly?

While in some cases nearly identical to niggardly, penurious implies niggardliness that gives an appearance of actual poverty.

the penurious eccentric bequeathed a fortune

When would stingy be a good substitute for niggardly?

The words stingy and niggardly can be used in similar contexts, but stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.

a stingy child, not given to sharing

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of niggardly
Adjective
Many Chileans are angry about the country’s unequal distribution of wealth and power, about niggardly pensions (for which people are supposed to save themselves) and about long waiting times for doctors’ visits and poor schools. The Economist, 25 Dec. 2019 To tap one of the country’s two largest and most niggardly mines is hard enough. The Economist, 3 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for niggardly
Adjective
  • But the approval process has been slow, the discounts vary from carrier to carrier, the requirements coming from insurers don’t always match the state’s own standards and the savings on offer are, according to some, miserly.
    CalMatters, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Newcastle's player sale profits were miserly for years until June 2024 Profit on player sales from 2014 to 2024 (£millions) Column chart of Newcastle United profit on player sales, where club record £69.8m in 2023-24 far outweigh what came before.
    Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • That's key in a country where good-paying jobs are scarce.
    Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 8 June 2025
  • Yet with the old rail factory at Qadam station in disrepair, the know-how to forge, repair, and maintain Ottoman rail is scarce.
    Taylor Luck, Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • Watch out for slippery roads: Be extra careful during the first half hour after rain begins.
    Bay Area Weather Report, Mercury News, 7 June 2025
  • But the Thunder do need to be careful going up against this Indiana team.
    Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • Juan Soto, meanwhile, went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout and heard a smattering of boos from a sparse crowd after a seventh-inning groundout.
    Peter Sblendorio, Hartford Courant, 28 May 2025
  • Soto, meanwhile, received a smattering of boos from a sparse crowd, particularly after a seventh-inning groundout.
    Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 28 May 2025
Adjective
  • Behind a stingy defensive performance, the Valkyries defeated the Storm 76-70 on Saturday to win their third straight game.
    Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 14 June 2025
  • Nationally, the stingiest bosses were in Louisiana, who gave only 2.8% raises late last year.
    Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • This parsimonious approach protects you from overdoing it when a less resource-intensive and even faster way to get the data would have been enough.
    Julius Černiauskas, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
  • Driving the reluctant interviewee to the Manchester airport for the flight to Washington, Rudman discovered that his famously parsimonious friend had only $3 in his wallet.
    Barbara A. Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
Adjective
  • In the late 1800s, two child psychologists coined the term only child syndrome to describe the negative traits that their research showed only children often possess, including being spoiled, selfish, maladjusted, and anti-social.
    Liz Hammond, Vogue, 11 June 2025
  • What if the very structure of our success makes having children feel like a selfish, impossible luxury?
    Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
Adjective
  • Some of the women became her close friends, and one became a longtime girlfriend.
    Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
  • Atletico Madrid are keeping close tabs on Andy Robertson.
    Phil Hay, New York Times, 16 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Niggardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/niggardly. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.

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