closefisted

C2 Topic:Describing People

Also spelled close-fisted

US /ˌkloʊsˈfɪstɪd/ UK /ˌkləʊsˈfɪstɪd/
adj Freq #1003448

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    unwilling to spend, give, or part with money; stingy

    The closefisted merchant refused even a small contribution to the public fund.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · unwilling to spend, give,... stingytightfistedmiserly
Opposites
generousopenhandedfreehanded
Word family
Derived forms closefistedness
Related forms miserparsimony

Etymology

From close + fisted, picturing a hand clenched around money and unwilling to release it. The hyphenated close-fisted is an established spelling variant.

Topics

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