penuriousness

English

Etymology

From penurious +‎ -ness.

Noun

penuriousness (uncountable)

1. The quality of being penurious.

   In Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the character Ebenezer Scrooge is renowned for his penuriousness.

   • 1671, Thomas Watson, The Beatitudes, page 271:

     Covetouſneſs is the root of penuriouſneſs and baſeneſs, it hinders hoſpitality;

   • 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 32:

     Giving that up, she took a broom and a duster and went upstairs to housemaid Mrs Dibble's bedroom, with her head tied up in a coloured scarf. It was a dusty, snuffy job, for penuriousness in Mrs Dibble refused to throw anything away, including dirt, and if anything fell on the floor it remained there.

Synonyms

• (quality of being penurious): cheapness, frugality, miserliness, thriftiness