frugal

fru·gal

(fro͞o′gəl)

adj.

1. Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources. See Synonyms at sparing.

2. Simple or costing little; meager or inexpensive: a frugal lunch.

[Latin frūgālis, virtuous, thrifty, from frūx, frūg-, fruit, virtue.]

fru·gal′i·ty (fro͞o-găl′ĭ-tē), fru′gal·ness n.

fru′gal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

frugal

(ˈfruːɡəl)

adj

1. practising economy; living without waste; thrifty

2. not costly; meagre

[C16: from Latin frūgālis, from frūgī useful, temperate, from frux fruit]

fruˈgality, ˈfrugalness n

ˈfrugally adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fru•gal

(ˈfru gəl)

adj.

1. economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful.

2. entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager.

[1590–1600; < Latin frūgālis economical]

fru•gal′i•ty, n.

fru′gal•ly, adv.

syn: See economical.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.

frugal - avoiding waste; "an economical meal"; "an economical shopper"; "a frugal farmer"; "a frugal lunch"; "a sparing father and a spending son"; "sparing in their use of heat and light"; "stinting in bestowing gifts"; "thrifty because they remember the great Depression"; "`scotch' is used only informally"

sparing, stinting, scotch, economical

colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech

thrifty - careful and diligent in the use of resources

frugal

adjective

1. thrifty, sparing, careful, prudent, provident, parsimonious, abstemious, penny-wise, saving, cheeseparing She lives a frugal life.
thrifty excessive, lavish, luxurious, extravagant, wasteful, prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, imprudent

2. meagre, economical, niggardly Her diet was frugal.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

frugal

adjective

Careful in the use of material resources:

canny, chary, economical, provident, prudent, saving, Scotch, sparing, thrifty.

Translations

frugal

säästäväinentaloudellinen

frugal économe

frugale

frugal

frugal

frugal

[ˈfruːgəl] ADJ → frugal

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

frugal

[ˈfruːg^əl] adj [person] → économe; [life] → frugal(e); [meal, diet] → frugal(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

frugal

adj

person, life → genügsam; to be frugal with one’s money → sparsam mit seinem Geld umgehen

meal → karg; food, diet → frugal (geh), → bescheiden

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

frugal

[ˈfruːg/əl] adj (person) → economo/a; (meal) → frugale

References in classic literature ?

A frugal mind cannot defend itself from considerable bitterness when reflecting that at the Battle of Actium (which was fought for no less a stake than the dominion of the world) the fleet of Octavianus Caesar and the fleet of Antonius, including the Egyptian division and Cleopatra's galley with purple sails, probably cost less than two modern battleships, or, as the modern naval book-jargon has it, two capital units.

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'I knew,' said he, 'your frugal ways: So, that I might not wound your pride By bringing strangers in to gaze, I've left my legal friend outside!

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He was about forty years old, frugal and industrious, and made a living from the little farm which is now overgrown with brush and brambles.

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When he had finished this frugal mean he washed his face and hands in the fountain.

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The rich may be extravagant, the poor can be frugal; and private oppression may always be avoided by a judicious selection of objects proper for such impositions.

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This Anton Antonitch lived on the fourth storey in a house in Five Corners, in four low-pitched rooms, one smaller than the other, of a particularly frugal and sallow appearance.

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Their housekeeping was of a very frugal kind: not only because that was the safest way of life, involving the least offence to the people, but because they were not rich, and Charles, throughout his imprisonment, had had to pay heavily for his bad food, and for his guard, and towards the living of the poorer prisoners.

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The travellers, though hungry in the extreme, were fain to make a very frugal supper; for they saw their journey was likely to be prolonged much beyond the anticipated term.

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He set before his master a frugal, but perfectly Parisian repast: roast meat, cooked at the baker's, with vegetables, salad, and a dessert borrowed from the shop itself.

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Then we run our little boat into some quiet nook, and the tent is pitched, and the frugal supper cooked and eaten.

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Bloomfield invited me to partake of a frugal supper of cold meat and bread.

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My wife desired to be represented as Venus, and the painter was instructed not to be too frugal of his diamonds in her stomacher and hair.