[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

economic \e`conom"ic\ ?; 277, economical \e`conom"ical\, a.
   f. 'economique, l. oeconomicus orderly, methodical, gr. ?
   economical. see economy.
   1. pertaining to the household; domestic. "in this economical
      misfortune of ill-assorted matrimony." --milton.
      1913 webster

   2. relating to domestic economy, or to the management of
      household affairs.
      1913 webster

            and doth employ her economic art
            and busy care, her household to preserve. --sir j.
                                                  davies.
      1913 webster

   3. managing with frugality; guarding against waste or
      unnecessary expense; careful and frugal in management and
      in expenditure; -- said of character or habits.
      1913 webster

            just rich enough, with economic care,
            to save a pittance.                   --harte.
      1913 webster

   4. managed with frugality; not marked with waste or
      extravagance; using the minimum of time or effort or
      resources required for effectiveness; frugal; -- said of
      acts; saving; as, an economical use of money or of time;
      an economic use of home heating oil. wordnet sense 3
      1913 webster + wordnet 1.5

   5. of or pertaining to the national or regional economy;
      relating to political economy; relating to the means of
      living, or the resources and wealth of a country; relating
      to the production or consumption of goods and services of
      a nation or region; as, economic growth; economic
      purposes; economical truths; an economic downturn.
      1913 webster

            these matters economical and political. --j. c.
                                                  shairp.
      1913 webster

            there was no economical distress in england to
            prompt the enterprises of colonization. --palfrey.
      1913 webster

            economic questions, such as money, usury, taxes,
            lands, and the employment of the people. --h. c.
                                                  baird.
      1913 webster

   6. regulative; relating to the adaptation of means to an end.
      --grew.
      1913 webster

   7. of or pertaining to economics. economic theory
      wordnet 1.5

   8. profitable. opposite of uneconomic. wordnet sense 4
      wordnet 1.5 +pjc

   9. avoiding waste; as, an economical meal. opposite of
      wasteful.

   syn: frugal, scotch, sparing, stinting, thrifty.
        wordnet 1.5

   note: economical is the usual form when meaning frugal,
         saving; economic is the form commonly used when meaning
         pertaining to the management of a household, or of
         public affairs.
         1913 webster
see also:
economy uneconomic wasteful 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

economical
     adj 1: using the minimum of time or resources necessary for
            effectiveness; "an economic use of home heating oil";
            "a modern economical heating system"; "an economical
            use of her time" syn: economic
     2: of or relating to an economy, the system of production and
        management of material wealth; "economic growth"; "aspects
        of social, political, and economical life" syn: economic
     3: avoiding waste; "an economical meal"; "an economical
        shopper"; "a frugal farmer"; "a frugal lunch"; "a sparing
        father and a spending son"; "sparing in their use of heat
        and light"; "stinting in bestowing gifts"; "thrifty
        because they remember the great depression"; "`scotch' is
        used only informally" syn: frugal, scotch, sparing,
         stinting
see also:
economic frugal scotch sparing stinting 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

56 moby thesaurus words for "economical":
   scotch, budget, canny, careful, chary, cheap, cheeseparing, close,
   conservative, conserving, easy, economic, economizing, economy,
   forehanded, frugal, inexpensive, labor-saving, low, low-priced,
   manageable, mean, miserly, moderate, modest, money-saving,
   niggardly, nominal, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penny-wise,
   penurious, politico-economic, provident, prudent, prudential,
   reasonable, saving, scrimping, sensible, shabby, shoddy, skimping,
   socio-economic, spare, sparing, stingy, thrifty, tight,
   tight-fisted, time-saving, token, unexpensive, unwasteful,
   within means, worth the money

Economical >> E Words
Economical, definition of term: Economical
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