different between miserly vs costive

English

Etymology

miser +? -ly, attested from the 1540s.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ma?.z?(?).li/

Adjective

miserly (comparative more miserly, superlative most miserly)

1. Like a miser; very covetous; cautious with money

   Synonyms: stingy; see also Thesaurus:stingy, Thesaurus:greedy

Translations

Further reading

• miserly in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• miserly in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Simerly, misrely

English

Etymology

From Middle French costivé, ultimately from Latin constipatus (“constipated”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k?st?v/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k?st?v/

Adjective

costive

1. constipated
2. miserly, parsimonious

Quotations

constipated (figurative)

• 2005, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty, Bloomsbury Publishing, paperback edition, page 346:

  Melanie, who was used to Wani's costive memos, and even to dressing up the gist of a letter in her own words, stuck out her tongue in concentration as she took down Nick's old-fashioned periods and perplexing semicolons.

Anagrams

• voicest