Skip to main content
miser

miser

7 6.5
A person who keeps most of their money and refuses to spend it, even if they are rich
  • noun
  • /ˈmaɪzər/
translation icon : miser
  • Living alone in a run-down house, he was the typical miser, hoarding his wealth and rarely enjoying life.

He could be a miser, he could be a hypochondriac.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I wish I didn't have to work for Great-Aunt March, that crabby old miser.

  • Sleep is Ellen's reward for a good day's work, and she guards it as carefully as a miser guards his gold.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • You want me to be a miser all my life?

  • Are you a rich miser or something?

  • Yet their enemies protect their lives like a miser protects his money.

    Academic text (2007)
  • She'd been unhappy with him for months, complaining that he was a miser and that they never had any fun together.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • His hands opened and closed at us with the rapacity of a miser being held back from his coins.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Begrudgingly giving Bob the whole of Christmas Day off, the miser trudged homeward.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The old man was known as a miser because he refused to spend any of his fortune.

  • She called him a miser after he declined to donate even a small amount to the charity.

Synonyms

tightwad
vsmiser
  • Offensive
5 8.7

A person who does not like to spend money

hoards money and lives in poor conditions because of saving
scrooge
vsmiser
  • Offensive
2 8.5

A person who refuses to spend money or share with others

hoards money and lives in poor conditions rather than merely being selfish
cheapo
vsmiser
  • Offensive
1 9.3

A person who does not like to spend money

hoards money and lives in poor conditions rather than simply frugal behaviour
skinflint
vsmiser
  • Offensive
1 9.1

A person who does not like to spend money

hoards money and lives in poor conditions because of saving
penny pincher
vsmiser
  • Informal
1 5.8

A person who spends very little money to save as much as possible

hoards money and lives in poor conditions rather than just being careful
pinchpenny
vsmiser
  • Offensive
1 9.8

A person who does not like to spend money

hoards money and lives in poor conditions rather than just tight budgeting
moneygrubber
vsmiser
  • Offensive
8.6

A person who only cares about making money

hoards money and lives in poor conditions rather than prioritizing accumulation only
scunge
vsmiser
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who does not like to spend money

hoards money and lives in poor conditions rather than casual stinginess
cheapie
vsmiser
  • Offensive
8.3

A person who does not like to spend money

hoards money and lives in poor conditions rather than general unwillingness to spend

Antonyms

5 8.5

A person who spends money in a careless, wasteful way

How Stingy

scrooge
  • Offensive
2 8.5
skinflint
  • Offensive
1 9.1
miser
7 6.5
cheapskate
  • Offensive
13 7.0
penny pincher
  • Informal
1 5.8

Surface Forms

miser singular
misers plural

Etymology

Miser comes from the old Latin word miser, which meant 'wretched' or 'unhappy' and is the same root as miserable. So a miser is someone so tight with money that they often live poorly and sadly.