Meanings
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1
adj
Miserly; excessively cheap.
The old man died a penurious wretch; eighty-thousand dollars in the mattress and as many holes in the roof.
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2
adj
Not bountiful; thin; scant.
The penurious stew would have been more accurately labelled broth.
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3
adj
Impoverished; wanting for money.
The poor penurious horde, naught in the cooking pot and naught in the belly.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
1
adj
· miserly; excessively cheap.
as tight as dick's hatbandcheapcheeseparingchintzycloseclose as waxclose-fistedilliberal
Word family
Derived forms
penuriouslypenuriousnessunpenurious
Related forms
penury
Etymology
From Medieval Latin pēnūriōsus. See penury from Latin penuria (“want”), related to paene (“scarcely”), c. 1400. Compare French pénurie.