Basic Details
Word: Parsimonious
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Very unwilling to spend money or give things away; mean with money.
Synonyms: stingy, miserly, tight-fisted, mean
Antonyms: generous, lavish, extravagant
How to Spell Parsimonious
Syllables: par - si - mo - ni - ous
Tricky part: The ending is ious, as in harmonious, and the second vowel is i: parsi, not parse. Students write parsimonous or parsimonius.
Watch out for: parsimonous, parsimonius, parcimonious
Memory tip: A parsimonious man will not part with his money, so begin with par. Then take parsimony, turn its y into i and add ous.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The parsimonious landlord refused to repair the leaking roof.
Example 2: Our parsimonious neighbour has reused the same gift wrap for years.
Example 3: Critics called the government parsimonious for cutting the school meal budget.
Fun Fact
Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol is one of the best-known parsimonious characters in fiction, and his name is now used for any miser.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word parsimonious as used in the sentence:
The parsimonious shopkeeper gave his workers only a tiny bonus at Diwali.
a) miserly
b) stingy
c) mean
d) generous
Show answer
d) generous. Stingy, miserly and mean all fit a shopkeeper who hands out a tiny bonus; generous is the opposite.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Although the club had plenty of money in the bank, its parsimonius treasurer refused to buy new footballs for the junior players.
a) junior
b) plenty
c) treasurer
d) parsimonius
Show answer
d) parsimonius. The ending is ious, as in harmonious, so an o must sit between the i and the u.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
My uncle is so soinmuopsira that he walks five kilometres just to save the auto fare.
a) parsimonious
b) harmonious
c) acrimonious
d) sanctimonious
Show answer
a) parsimonious. All four end in monious, so look at the front: the jumble has a p, an r and an s, giving pars.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. You can tell a parsimonious person because they ____.
a) argue over every rupee
b) eat out every night
c) give gifts freely
d) lend money gladly
Show answer
a) argue over every rupee
2. Parsimonious is a stronger, less kind word than ____.
a) lavish
b) generous
c) thrifty
d) wasteful
Show answer
c) thrifty
