parsimonious
par·si·mon·i·ous/pɑɹ.sɪˈmoʊ.ni.əs/adjective
parsimonious is spelled P-A-R-S-I-M-O-N-I-O-U-S: 12 letters and 5 syllables (par·si·mon·i·ous). It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, parsimonious means “Exhibiting parsimony; sparing in the expenditure of money; frugal, possibly to excess” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in parsimonious?
| Letters | 12: P-A-R-S-I-M-O-N-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: par·si·mon·i·ous |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 76,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is parsimonious?
Parsimonious appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th 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 parsimonious?
- UK /pɑː.sɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/
- US /pɑɹ.sɪˈmoʊ.ni.əs/
Parsimonious has 5 syllables, split par·si·mon·i·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-parsimonious.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with parsimonious?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as parsimonious from its last stressed vowel (/oʊniəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of parsimonious
- more parsimonious comparative
- most parsimonious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does parsimonious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Exhibiting parsimony; sparing in the expenditure of money; frugal, possibly to excess.
- 2
Using a minimal number of assumptions, steps, or conjectures.
- 3
Not conceding many goals.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Parsimonious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense exhibiting parsimony:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pincé, avare, parcimonieux |
| German | sparsam, geizig, karg, knauserig, kniepig |
| Portuguese | parcimonioso, parco |
| Spanish | parsimonioso |
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 parsimonious come from?
From parsimony + -ous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).