parsimony

noun

par·​si·​mo·​ny ˈpär-sə-ˌmō-nē 

1

a

: the quality of being careful with money or resources : thrift

the necessity of wartime parsimony

b

: the quality or state of being stingy

The charity was surprised by the parsimony of some larger corporations.

2

: economy in the use of means to an end

especially : economy of explanation in conformity with Occam's razor

the scientific law of parsimony dictates that any example of animal behavior should be interpreted at its simplest, most immediate level

—Peter Gorner

Synonyms

• cheapness
• cheeseparing
• closeness
• miserliness
• niggardliness
• penny-pinching
• penuriousness
• pinching
• stinginess
• tightfistedness
• tightness

Examples of parsimony in a Sentence

The charity was surprised by the parsimony of some larger corporations.

her parsimony was so extreme that she'd walk five miles to the store to save a few cents on gas

Recent Examples on the Web

And even if the existing global public health architecture survives this time of parsimony and austerity, it will have been remodeled along the way. —Laurie Garrett, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2012

But the Senate’s parsimony on these issues was praised by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a think tank that advocates for racial and economic justice. —Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2023

Given the exorbitant gasoline prices in most European countries, such parsimony is a vital part of the appeal. —Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 26 May 2023

One of the beauties of Out of Africa was its elegant parsimony; extraordinary claims were easily dismissed and ignored. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 29 Dec. 2010

Here's where the author explains the philosophy behind the statistical technique: When choosing among several competing scientific models, two opposing factors must be taken into account: the goodness of fit and parsimony. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 May 2010

His record in the Premier League, in particular, in recent years has been built as much on defensive parsimony as attacking threat. —New York Times, 13 Apr. 2022

At the conference this year, delegates from developing countries said this parsimony had undermined their trust in the U.N. process. —Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Nov. 2021

The likely answer is that what’s true today has always been true: parsimony is the surest path to wealth. —John Tamny, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Middle English parcimony, borrowed from Latin parsimōnia, from pars-, perfect stem of parcere "to act sparingly, be thrifty (with), refrain from" (of uncertain origin) + -i- -i- + -mōnia, suffix of abstract nouns (going back to the Indo-European noun-forming suffix *-mĕ̄n-/*mŏ̄n- + the abstract noun formative *-i-)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing parsimony

• law of parsimony

Kids Definition

parsimony

noun

par·​si·​mo·​ny ˈpär-sə-ˌmō-nē 

: the quality of being overly sparing with money : miserliness

parsimonious

ˌpär-sə-ˈmō-nē-əs

adjective

parsimoniously adverb

parsimoniousness noun