miserly
/ˈmaɪ.zəɹli/adjective
miserly is spelled M-I-S-E-R-L-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 64,400th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, miserly means “Like a miser, very or objectionably cautious with money” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in miserly?
| Letters | 7: M-I-S-E-R-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 64,400th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is miserly?
Miserly appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 64,400th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce miserly?
- UK /ˈmaɪ.zə(ɹ).li/
- US /ˈmaɪ.zəɹli/
Miserly has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-miserly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of miserly
- more miserly comparative
- most miserly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does miserly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Like a miser, very or objectionably cautious with money.
miserly habits
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Miserly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense stingy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | avare, pingre, chiche, radin |
| German | geizig, knauserig, knausrig, gierig |
| Portuguese | mesquinho, pão-duro |
| Spanish | mezquino, tacaño, mísero, pesetero, roñoso, cicatero |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does miserly come from?
From miser + -ly, attested from the 1540s.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).