Mean is about not wanting to give. Frugal is about not wanting to waste.
It is a very reasonable guess. Both words involve someone holding on to their money, and a child who has only met frugal once will reach for the nearest familiar word.
But the two point in opposite directions when you look at who benefits. Mean is about what you will not give to other people. Frugal is about what you will not throw away.
Which is why a frugal person can be extremely generous. They will give you the coat off their back — they simply will not throw away the wrapping paper it came in.
Careful not to waste money or things.
Similar: thrifty, careful, sparing
mean is not one of the words we teach — it is a word your child already has. That is exactly why it is the one they reach for.
Frugal is usually a neutral or approving word, and mean never is. A child who swaps them reads a character the writer approves of as one the writer dislikes.
Definitions and example sentences on this page are the ones a child sees inside Wordrealm, taken from our list of over 1,100 words. It is free to browse, with nothing to sign up for.
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test