parsimonious
adjective C2
Plain meaning
unwilling to spend money or use resources; extremely economical
Exam-register meaning
very sparing in expenditure or assumptions; in academic contexts, elegantly economical
In context
naturalHe was too parsimonious to replace the broken chair.
examThe model is parsimonious because it explains the pattern with only two variables.
Common collocations
parsimonious explanationparsimonious modelparsimonious approach
Watch out
In research writing, parsimonious can be positive; in everyday money contexts it often sounds negative.
Word family
parsimony (noun)parsimoniously (adverb)