Penurious: meaning, definitions and examples

Use 'penurious' when describing someone who is extremely poor and lacks basic necessities, or when someone is ungenerously unwilling to spend money.

• The penurious family struggled to afford even the most basic commodities.
• His penurious nature prevented him from donating to the charity.

Use 'poor' to describe someone who has little money or material possessions. This is a more general and less intense term compared to 'penurious' or 'destitute'.

• The poor farmer worked day and night to make ends meet.
• Many children in the poor neighborhood lack access to proper education.

Use 'destitute' to describe a person or group who is completely without money, food, or home.

• After the earthquake, many families were left destitute.
• The old man had been destitute for years, living on the streets.

Use 'miserly' to describe someone who hoards wealth and spends as little money as possible. This word has a negative connotation.

• The miserly old man refused to give even a single coin to the beggar.
• Despite his riches, he lived in a miserly manner, rarely spending money on anything beyond basic needs.

Use 'stingy' to refer to someone who is unwilling to spend or give money. Similar to 'miserly', this term has a negative connotation.

• He's so stingy that he wouldn't even buy a cup of coffee for a friend.
• Her stingy habits made her unpopular among her colleagues.

Typically used to describe extreme poverty or frugality driven by necessity rather than choice.

• The penurious family struggled to make ends meet every month.
• Despite his penurious childhood, he grew up with a generous heart.

Describes someone who hoards wealth and spends as little money as possible, usually with a negative connotation of greediness.

• Scrooge is the epitome of a miserly character in literature.
• Her miserly habits prevented her from enjoying any luxuries in life.

Used to describe a person who is unwilling to give or spend, often with a negative tone suggesting meanness.

• She's so stingy she wouldn't even buy a gift for her best friend.
• It was stingy of him to leave such a small tip after a fantastic meal.

Denotes excessive frugality or unwillingness to spend money, often with a negative implication of stinginess.

• His parsimonious approach to business earned him a reputation for being difficult to work with.
• The town council was criticized for its parsimonious budget cuts that affected public services.

Informal term used to describe someone who is very reluctant to spend money, usually with a negative implication of being overly frugal.

• He's known to be tightfisted when it comes to donating to charity.
• As a tightfisted boss, he rarely gave out bonuses or raises.