niggardly
/ˈnɪɡɚdli/adjective
niggardly is spelled N-I-G-G-A-R-D-L-Y: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, niggardly means “Withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in niggardly?
| Letters | 9: N-I-G-G-A-R-D-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 118,441st 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 niggardly?
Niggardly appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st 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 niggardly?
- UK /ˈnɪɡədli/
- US /ˈnɪɡɚdli/
Niggardly 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)-Vininn126-niggardly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of niggardly
- more niggardly comparative
- most niggardly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does niggardly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly.
[W]here the owner of the house will be bountiful, it is not for the steward to be niggardly.
- 2
Conceding few runs (of a bowler).
adverb
- 1
archaicIn a parsimonious way; sparingly, stingily.
because many families are compelled to live niggardly, exhaust and undone by great dowers, none shall be given at all, or very little […].
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Niggardly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense withholding:
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 niggardly come from?
From niggard + -ly (adjectival suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).