miserly

M3I1S1E1R1L1Y4
UK/ˈmaɪ.zə(ɹ).li/US/ˈmaɪ.zəɹli/

adjective

Like a miser, very or objectionably cautious with money.

“miserly offer”

UncommonScrabble 12

Meanings

adjectivemiserly (comparative more miserly, superlative most miserly)

comparative more miserly · superlative most miserly

  1. Like a miser, very or objectionably cautious with money.

    miserly offer

    5 more examples

    miserly habits

    He had a miserly attitude toward spending money.

    They lived under miserly conditions despite their wealth.

    It's something that worries me about the book I'm doing about him... In some ways he's just like the racist caricature of the miserly old Jew.

    1991, Art Spiegelman, Maus I: My Father Bleeds History, New York: Pantheon Books, page 131

    What could be more selfish, more miserly—this in specific is what gnaws at him—than dying childless, terminating the line, subtracting oneself from the great work of generation? Worse than miserly, in fact: unnatural.

    2005, J. M. Coetzee, “Three”, in Slow Man, New York: Viking, →ISBN, page 20

    Synonyms: as tight as Dick's hatband, cheap, cheeseparing, chintzy, close, close as wax, close-fisted, illiberal

Synonyms & antonyms

More synonyms by meaning

adjective(used of persons or behavior) characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From miser + -ly, attested from the 1540s.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek φειδωλός
  • φειδωλός (pheidōlós)stingy
Arabic بَخِيل
  • بَخِيل (baḵīl)stingy
Bulgarian стиснат, скъпернически
  • стиснат (stisnat)stingy
  • скъпернически (skăperničeski)stingy
Chinese Mandarin 吝嗇 /吝啬, 小氣 /小气
  • 吝嗇 /吝啬 (lìnsè)stingy
  • 小氣 /小气 (xiǎoqì)stingy
  • 摳門 /抠门 (kōumén)stingy
  • 摳 /抠 (kōu)stingy
Czech lakomý
  • lakomýstingy
Danish gnieragtig, gerrig
  • gnieragtigstingy
  • gerrigstingy
  • nærigstingy
Esperanto avarula
  • avarulastingy
Finnish saita, itara
  • saitastingy
  • itarastingy
  • pihistingy
  • nuukastingy
French avare, pingre
  • avarestingy
  • pingrestingy
  • chichestingy
  • radinstingy
German geizig, knauserig
  • geizigstingy
  • knauserigstingy
  • knausrigstingy
  • gierigstingy
Hindi कंजूस
  • कंजूस (kañjūs)stingy
Irish ocrach, sprionlaithe
  • ocrachstingy
  • sprionlaithestingy
Italian avaro, tirchio
  • avarostingy
  • tirchiostingy
Japanese けちな, 吝嗇な
  • けちな (kechi na)stingy
  • 吝嗇な (rinshoku na)stingy
Korean 인색한, 인색하다
  • 인색한 (insaek-han)stingy
  • 인색하다 (insaek-hada)stingy
Persian خسیس
  • خسیس (xasis)stingy
Polish skąpy
  • skąpystingy
Portuguese mesquinho, pão-duro
  • mesquinhostingy
  • pão-durostingy
Romanian ciufút
  • ciufútstingy
Russian скупо́й, ска́редный
  • скупо́й (skupój)stingy
  • ска́редный (skárednyj)stingy
  • жа́дный (žádnyj)stingy
  • прижи́мистый (prižímistyj)stingy
Slovak lakomý, skúpy
  • lakomýstingy
  • skúpystingy
Spanish mezquino, tacaño
  • mezquinostingy
  • tacañostingy
  • míserostingy
  • peseterostingy
  • roñosostingy
  • cicaterostingy
  • pilinquestingy
  • pilinquistingy
  • pilishnestingy
  • cerracatínstingy
  • enduradorstingy
Urdu کنجوس
  • کنجوس (kañjūs)stingy
Vietnamese bo bo như thần giữ của
  • bo bo như thần giữ củastingy
Yiddish קמצניש
  • קמצניש (kamtsonish)stingy

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

miserly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miserly

MLA

“miserly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miserly. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “miserly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miserly.

Source: miserly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.