ungenerous

adjective

un·​gen·​er·​ous

ˌən-ˈjen-rəs,

-ˈje-nə- 

: not generous:

a

: petty, mean

ungenerous criticisms

b

: deficient in liberality : stingy

an ungenerous offer

ungenerously adverb

Synonyms

• cheap
• chintzy
• close
• closefisted
• mean
• mingy
• miserly
• niggard
• niggardly
• parsimonious
• penny-pinching
• penurious
• pinching
• pinchpenny
• spare
• sparing
• stingy
• stinting
• tight
• tightfisted
• uncharitable

Examples of ungenerous in a Sentence

it is ungenerous for someone of his ample means not to provide more for the care of his aging parents

Recent Examples on the Web

This is the problem with the show: These women are just concocting reasons why the people on the other side suck, and it’s become the most uncharitable, the most ungenerous thing on Bravo. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 15 July 2024

While the initial batch of second-quarter earnings reports has been met by generally ungenerous market responses, the numbers themselves are solid. —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 20 July 2024

This very ungenerous person was complaining about the unkempt state of their neighbor’s home and yard. —Amy Dickinson, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2024

If my understanding of Shortz’s motives for hiring me was a paranoid misread—ungenerous to both of us—my premonitions about the demographics and ethos of puzzle-making were eventually confirmed. —Anna Shechtman, The New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above