Cheap — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Cheap (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. costing little

   "e-mail is so popular because it's a cheap way to send messages"

   similar: affordable, bargain-basement, budget, cheapie, cheapo, chintzy, cut-price (chiefly British), cut-rate, dime-store, dirt cheap, el cheapo, inexpensive, low, low-end, popular, reasonable
   related: cheapish, moderate, discount, discounted, fire-sale, lowered, reduced, wholesale, valueless, worthless, supercheap, ultracheap
   opposite: costly, dear, deluxe, expensive, high, high-ticket, precious, premium, pricey, spendy (chiefly Northwest), valuable
   near: increased, inflated, exorbitant, extravagant, overpriced, prohibitive, prohibitory, steep, stiff, superexpensive, ultraexpensive, unreasonable, invaluable, priceless, luxurious

2. of low quality

   "a cheap sweater that started to unravel almost as soon as I bought it"

   similar: bad, bargain-basement, bum, cheapjack, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy (slang), cut-rate, el cheapo, execrable, gimcrack, inferior, junky, lousy, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, poor, rotten, rubbishy, schlock, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, terrible, trashy, trumpery, wretched
   related: useless, valueless, worthless, indifferent, lackluster, second-class, brummagem, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, kitsch, kitschy, meretricious, ostentatious, showy, splashy, swank, tawdry, seedy, shabby, tacky, counterfeit, fake, phony, sham, supercheap, ultracheap
   opposite: excellent, fine, first-class, first-rate, good, high-grade, superior, top-notch
   near: elegant, handsome, tasteful, handcrafted, polished, refined

3. giving or sharing as little as possible

   "a cheap coworker who never contributes to the collections taken up in the office"

   similar: chintzy, close, closefisted, mean, mingy, miserly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, pinchpenny, spare, sparing, stingy, stinting, tight, tightfisted, uncharitable, ungenerous
   related: careful, chary, conserving, economical, economizing, frugal, saving, scrimping, skimping, thrifty, acquisitive, avaricious, avid, coveting, covetous, desirous, grasping, greedy, hoggish, itchy, mercenary, rapacious, selfish, shabby, small, sordid, begrudging, envious, grudging, resentful, inhospitable
   opposite: bounteous, bountiful, charitable, freehanded, generous, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unsparing, unstinting
   near: altruistic, selfless, unselfish, extravagant, free, handsome, lavish, overgenerous, profuse, beneficent, benevolent, hospitable, humanitarian, philanthropic, compassionate, good-hearted, greathearted, kindly, magnanimous, openhearted, thriftless, unthrifty, dissipating, frittering, prodigal, profligate, spendthrift, splurging, squandering, wasteful, wasting

4. arousing or deserving of one's loathing and disgust

   "that was a cheap thing to say to someone who never did you any harm"

   similar: contemptible, cruddy, deplorable, despicable, dirty, grubby, lame, lousy, mean, nasty, paltry, pitiable, pitiful, ratty, scabby, scummy, scurvy, sneaking, sorry, wretched
   related: abhorrent, abominable, condemnable, detestable, execrable, hateful, loathsome, odious, disgusting, reptilian, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, revulsive, discreditable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, ignominious, shameful, base, ignoble, low, shabby, sordid, squalid, vile, blamable, censurable, reprehensible, reproachable, cowardly, craven, dastardly, unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous
   opposite: admirable, commendable, creditable, laudable, meritorious, praiseworthy
   near: high-minded, honest, honorable, noble, principled, redoubtable, reputable, right-minded, scrupulous, upright, ethical, good, moral, right, righteous, virtuous

5. involving minimal difficulty or effort

   "the boxer's early bouts were cheap wins, but now he's moving up to the top ranks of boxing"

   similar: downhill, easy, effortless, facile, fluent, fluid, hands-down, light, painless, ready, royal, simple, smooth, snap, soft
   related: idiotproof, mindless, quick, straightforward, unchallenging, uncomplicated, apparent, clear, clear-cut, distinct, evident, manifest, obvious, open-and-shut, palpable, patent, perspicuous, plain, transparent, unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable
   opposite: arduous, demanding, difficult, exacting, formidable, grueling, hard, herculean, killer, labored, laborious, murderous, rough, severe, stiff, strenuous, toilful, toilsome, tough
   near: burdensome, exhausting, onerous, oppressive, painful, stressful, taxing, troublesome, abstruse, complex, complicated, intricate, involved, knotty, problematic, recondite