Hot SAT Words:Lessons

# 1-10

Lesson #9: Penny-Pinching Tightwad?

Words relating to CHEAPNESS or care with spending money

AUSTEREAdj. Having great economy; showing

self-control when it comes to foregoing luxuries, frills; stern in manner or

appearance

AUSTEREThe poet had lived an AUSTERE life,

foregoing all luxuries and creature comforts for the sake of his art.

Early in their marriage, my parents lived on an AUSTERE budget that allowed them to buy nothing beyond the bare essentials.

AVARICE

N. Greed

AVARICEThe mayor’s AVARICE caused

him to embezzle funds from the city’s coffers.

AVARICE motivates many people to cheat on their income tax.

FRUGALAdj. careful with money, thrifty; not costly

FRUGALSurprisingly, they were FRUGAL at

breakfast, but they spared no expense at dinner.

FRUGALITY kept the old woman from spending a penny on anything she didn’t absolutely need.

MERCENARY

Adj. greedy for self-gain; thinking only of money making

MERCENARY What appeared at first to be MERVENARY,

turned out to be an unselfish endeavor. Jim Carey’s client in LIAR, LIAR takes a

MERCENARY approach first to marriage and then to divorce.

MISERLY

Adj. careful with how money is spent; stingy; thrifty

MISERLY To lose weight, I eat a MISERLY breakfast. Too MISERLY to spend a dollar, she’d rather

walk than take the cross-town bus. Ebenezer Scrooge’s are the most famous of

MISERLY habits.

PARSIMONIOUSAdj. Overly thrifty or miserly; stingy

PARSIMONIOUS Gramps is PARSIMONIOUS with his words.

Sometimes he doesn’t say anything for days. PARSIMONIOUS Paul never buys anything

that’s not on sale. He’s generous to his family, but to outsiders he

is the epitome of PARSIMONY.

PENURIOUSAdj. stingy; relating to great poverty or destitution

PENURIOUSHis PENURIOUS childhood

taught my father the value of every penny.

The PENURY of the family was made apparent by the small cup of soup and crust of bread that Ma served for dinner.

THRIFTY

Adj. showing care with how money and resources are used

THRIFTYBeing THIFTY is one thing, but

being downright cheap is another.Mama practiced THRIFT by dressing

the kids in Hand-me-downs rather than in new clothes.

CHEAP!