Meanings
- uncountableThe quality of being penurious.
In Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the character Ebenezer Scrooge is renowned for his penuriousness.
2 more examples
Covetouſneſs is the root of penuriouſneſs and baſeneſs, it hinders hoſpitality;
1671, Thomas Watson, The Beatitudes, page 271Giving that up, she took a broom and a duster and went upstairs to housemaid Mrs Dibble's bedroom, with her head tied up in a coloured scarf. It was a dusty, snuffy job, for penuriousness in Mrs Dibble refused to throw anything away, including dirt, and if anything fell on the floor it remained there.
1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 32Synonyms: cheapness, frugality, miserliness, thriftiness
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe quality of being penurious.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Cite this entry
penuriousness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penuriousness
“penuriousness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penuriousness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “penuriousness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penuriousness.
Source: penuriousness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.