noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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US:/ˈpɑɹ.səˌmoʊ.ni/
UK:/ˈpɑː.sə.mə.ni/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:P AA1 R S AH0 M OW2 N IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Examples
Near-synonyms: (usually admirable) frugality, economy, thrift, thriftiness; (excessive degree) tightness, stinginess; (extreme degree) miserliness; see also Thesaurus:frugal, Thesaurus:stingy
From Middle English parcimonie, from Middle French parsimonie, from Latin parsimōnia (“frugality, sparingness”), from pars-, past participle stem of parcere (“to spare”), + -monia, suffix signifying action, state, or condition.
Across languages
Translations
75 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Breton:
tostoni
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Bulgarian:
пестеливост
(pestelivost)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Bulgarian:
скъперничество
(skǎperničestvo)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Catalan:
parsimònia
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Chinese Mandarin:
吝嗇 /吝啬
(lìnsè)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Czech:
lakota
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Danish:
sparsomhed
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Dutch:
vrekkigheid
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Dutch:
zuinigheid
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Estonian:
ihnus
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Estonian:
kröönija
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Estonian:
kitsi
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Estonian:
veeringu veeretaja
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Estonian:
kopikakoi
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Finnish:
säästäväisyys
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
French:
parcimonie
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Galician:
parsimonia
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
German:
Sparsamkeit
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
German:
Geiz
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
German:
Knauserei
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
German:
Pfennigfuchserei
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Ancient Greek:
φειδωλία
(pheidōlía)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Hebrew:
הִתְקַמְצְנוּת
(hitkamtzenút)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Hungarian:
takarékosság
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Hungarian:
zsugoriság
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Irish:
barainn
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Japanese:
吝嗇
(rinshoku)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Japanese:
出し惜しみ
(dashioshimi)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Kazakh:
бақылдық
(baqyldyq)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Kazakh:
есепқорлық
(esepqorlyq)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Kazakh:
қаттылық
(qattylyq)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Kazakh:
сараңдық
(sarañdyq)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Latin:
parsimonia
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Norwegian Bokmål:
sparsommelighet
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Norwegian Nynorsk:
sparsemd
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Polish:
skąpstwo
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Polish:
oszędność
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Polish:
awarycja
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Portuguese:
parcimónia
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Portuguese:
parcimônia
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Romanian:
cumpătare
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Romanian:
parcimonie
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Russian:
бережли́вость
(berežlívostʹ)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Russian:
ску́пость
(skúpostʹ)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Russian:
скря́жничество
(skrjážničestvo)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Serbo-Croatian:
štedljivost
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Serbo-Croatian:
škrtost
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Sicilian:
parsimunia
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Slovak:
skúposť
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Spanish:
parsimonia
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Swedish:
sparsamhet
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Swedish:
snålhet
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Turkish:
cimrilik
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Turkish:
pintilik
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Turkish:
hasislik
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Turkish:
eli sıkılık
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Ottoman Turkish:
اداره
(idâre)
— great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
Chinese Mandarin:
節儉 /节俭
(jiéjiǎn)
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Czech:
úspornost
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Dutch:
zuinigheid
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Estonian:
säästvus
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Estonian:
kokkuhoidlikus
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Estonian:
tagasihoidlikus
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Finnish:
säästäväisyys
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
French:
économie
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
German:
Sparsamkeit
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
German:
Parsimonie
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Indonesian:
parsimoni
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Malay:
penyederhanaan
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Romanian:
cumpătare
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Romanian:
parcimonie
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Russian:
практичность
(praktičnostʹ)
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Serbo-Croatian:
štedljivost
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Serbo-Croatian:
oskudnost
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
Ottoman Turkish:
اداره
(idâre)
— principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
