Words / C2

pahs-i-MOHN-ee-uh-s/ˌpɑːsɪˈməʊniəs/

Parsimonious means extremely unwilling to spend money or resources — mean, in the British sense of stingy. Careful with money can be a virtue; parsimonious is too tight. Mean and stingy are everyday; frugal can still be praise. Writers also use it for explanations that use too few assumptions (a parsimonious model) in science. In speech about people, stingy or tight is clearer and less Latinate.

Meaning

Extremely unwilling to spend money or use resources; mean.

Examples

• “A parsimonious budget left no money for books.”
• “A parsimonious host offered water and one biscuit.”
• “The model is parsimonious: three variables, no decoration.”

Good to know

Too sparing (money or means). Everyday: stingy / mean. Also (science): simplest adequate explanation.

Near in meaning

stingy

New