Ungenerously

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that shows unwillingness to give or share freely or kindly
2. Acting without generosity or kindness, often withholding resources or help
3. Displaying a lack of liberality or willingness to be open-handed or giving

Etymology: "Ungenerously" is simply a prefix and a suffix stacked onto an older word. Its core is "generous", which came into English from Latin "generosus", meaning "of noble birth" or "well-born", built from "genus", "birth" or "stock". The sense of open-handedness developed later, so a word that began as a claim about lineage ended up describing a giving nature. The prefix "un-" is the ancient English negating element, inherited from Old English and ultimately from a root shared across Germanic languages, so "ungenerous" means "not generous". The adverb ending "-ly" comes from Old English "-līce", which turned adjectives into adverbs describing the manner of an action. Putting the two together gives a word describing how someone acts when they hold back.

Synonyms: stingily, meanly, miserly, grudgingly, parsimoniously

Antonyms: generously, liberally, bountifully, magnanimously, openhandedly