Verb for someone who is a miser.

Question

I'm trying to think of a synonym for 'to hoard,' or 'to stockpile,' but with more of a negative connotation. Like selfishly, and possibly illegally, hoarding resources for oneself during times of famine or war. Maybe this word doesn't exist, but I feel like it might. I'm thinking of a verb. Like if miser had a verb form.

Answer 1

I know you said you are looking for word that means to hoard, with a more visceral and negative feel to it, but I think hoard is the best word you can use. Of all the options offered by tutors, hoard has the most negative connotation. If you have any creative freedom in your writing, you may be able to expand upon this by including some imagery of a dragon sitting on piles of treasure, or a" hoarder" will a psychological issue that motivates them to lead an unhealthy lifestyle.

Answer 2

Hello John,

If you take the word "miser," it typically signifies a person who hoards something (usually of value) but does not share it with others. This reminds me of the pre-historic "hunter/gatherers" associated with Nomadic people in that being a miser becomes a survival tactic as well a source of revenue. Nomads are fully self-sufficient, and their purpose is that of unity (with other Nomads). I hope this comparison was helpful.

Robin

Answer 3

I can't think of any word that actually sounds like miser, but there are a lot of verbs/verb phrases that have the same meaning with a more negative tone. Perhaps:

To cache

To stash

To amass

To secure or to procure (procure is often read as suspiciously ambiguous)

To accumulate

To stow away

Or even, "to get one's mitts on"

Also, hoard in and of itself has a pretty negative connotation, so much so that it refers to an illness, so you could always refer to the person in question as a wealthy hoarder or explain what exactly they were hoarding and how.

Answer 4

Hi John,

If you're looking for an active verb and not a phrase, you may want to consider, "to stash away" which contains the notion of "hiding" things, typical of a miser.

Answer 5

Hi John,

Besides the verbs that you mentioned above, another verb for 'miser' is 'to be stingy'. Yes, 'stingy' is an adjective. But misers themselves tend to be stingy people.