Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

miserly

/ˈmaɪ.zəɹli/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.33 in modern English

Syllables: miser-ly
IPA: /ˈmaɪ.zəɹli/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Like a miser, very or objectionably cautious with money.

Example Sentences

"miserly habits"
"miserly offer"
"He had a miserly attitude toward spending money."
"They lived under miserly conditions despite their wealth."
"It's something that worries me about the book I'm doing about him... In some ways he's just like the racist caricature of the miserly old Jew."
"What could be more selfish, more miserly—this in specific is what gnaws at him—than dying childless, terminating the line, subtracting oneself from the great work of generation? Worse than miserly, in fact: unnatural."

Etymology

From miser + -ly, attested from the 1540s.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: miser

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈmaɪ.zəɹli/
British English: /ˈmaɪ.zə(ɹ).li/

Inflected Forms

more miserly (comparative) most miserly (superlative)

Derived Forms

miserlily miserliness unmiserliness unmiserly

Phrases

non-miserly

Synonyms

as tight as Dick's hatband cheap cheeseparing chintzy close close as wax close-fisted illiberal mean miserable miserly narrow-fisted

Questions

How do you pronounce miserly?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmaɪ.zəɹli/.
What does miserly mean?: Like a miser, very or objectionably cautious with money.
Where does miserly come from?: From miser + -ly, attested from the 1540s.

How to pronounce miserly

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “miserly”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈmaɪ.zəɹli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “miserly”.
Repeat and practice — Say “miserly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.