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Niggardly vs Flimsy - What's the difference?

niggardly | flimsy | Related terms |

Niggardly is a related term of flimsy.


As adjectives the difference between niggardly and flimsy

is that niggardly is withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly while flimsy is likely to bend or break under pressure; weak, shaky, flexible, or fragile.

As an adverb niggardly

is in a parsimonious way; sparingly, stingily.

As a noun flimsy is

thin typing paper used to make multiple copies.

niggardly

English

(Controversies about the word "niggardly")

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly.
  • * Bishop Hall
    • Where the owner of the house will be bountiful, it is not for the steward to be niggardly .
  • * 1919 ,
    • They were not niggardly , these tramps, and he who had money did not hesitate to share it among the rest.
  • * 1958 , , The Affluent Society (1998 edition), ISBN 9780395925003, p. 186:
    • This manifests itself in an implacable tendency to provide an opulent supply of some things and a niggardly yield of others.

    Synonyms

    * miserly, stingy. * See also

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • In a parsimonious way; sparingly, stingily.
  • *, New York 2001, p.105:
    • because many families are compelled to live niggardly , exhaust and undone by great dowers, none shall be given at all, or very little […].

    Usage notes

    * This term may cause offence as it is easily misinterpreted to be an adverbial form of the racial epithet (nigger). Racist Language, Real and Imagined , Steven Pinker. February 2, 1999. The New York Times (editorial). The two words are etymologically unrelated.

    References

    See also

    * (Controversies about the word "niggardly")

    flimsy

    English

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Likely to bend or break under pressure; weak, shaky, flexible, or fragile.
    • He expected the flimsy structure to collapse at any moment.
  • * Sheridan
    • All the flimsy furniture of a country miss's brain.

    Antonyms

    * robust * strong * sturdy

    Noun

    (flimsies)
  • Thin typing paper used to make multiple copies.
  • *1977 , , The Honourable Schoolboy , Folio Society 2010, p. 251:
  • *:Smiley peered once more at the flimsy which he still clutched in his pudgy hand.
  • (informal, in the plural) Skimpy underwear.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2007, date=October 25, author=Ruth La Ferla, title=Now It’s Nobody’s Secret, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=Choosing lingerie “is about what makes you look good, but also what looks good with or through your clothing,” said Monica Mitro, a spokeswoman for Victoria’s Secret, the brand that catapulted racy flimsies into the public eye. }}