Meaning & use
stingy
Last updated
UK/ˈstɪndʒi/
US/ˈstɪndʒi/
Usage warning: this word is disapproving. It shows a negative opinion, so take care with who and what you use it about.
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Unwilling to spend, give, or use much of something; not generous.
Grammar: Negative and informal; usually with with, or with too plus an infinitive.
Patterns
- stingy with money/time
- too stingy to do something
- a stingy amount/tip
Do not be stingy with the salt in this soup.
He was too stingy to buy a new umbrella.
Word forms
| comparative | stingier |
|---|---|
| superlative | stingiest |
Common combinations
- stingy with money
- The landlord is stingy with money for repairs.
- stingy tip
- Leaving a stingy tip upset the waiter.
- stingy portion
- The restaurant served a stingy portion of fries.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tightfisted
- Tightfisted is informal and strongly negative, like stingy; frugal is neutral.
- miserly
- Miserly is harsher and suggests hoarding like a miser; stingy can be casual and milder.
- frugal
- Frugal means careful with money and can be positive; stingy implies unreasonable unwillingness to give.
Opposites
Word family
- stinginess noun
- The quality of being unwilling to give or spend.
Commonly confused: stingy or sting?
stingy vs sting
Sting means to prick or a sharp pain; stingy means ungenerous and is pronounced with a j sound.
Practice
The phrase too stingy ___ share means unwilling to give.
Choose one answer.
Too plus adjective takes an infinitive: too stingy to share. For/at/by cannot introduce the action after too stingy in this pattern.
Make it your own
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