meager

adjective

mea·ger ˈmē-gər How to pronounce meager (audio)

variants or meagre

: having little flesh : thin

meager were his looks, sharp misery had worn him to the bones

William Shakespeare

: lacking desirable qualities (such as richness or strength)

leading a meager life

: deficient in quality or quantity

a meager diet

meagerly adverb

meagerness noun

Example Sentences

Every morning he eats a meager breakfast of toast and coffee. We'll have to do the best we can with this year's meager harvest. She came to this country with a fairly meager English vocabulary, but she is learning more words every day. They suffered through several meager years at the beginning of their marriage. Although she's now rich and famous, she remembers her meager beginnings as a child from a poor family.

Recent Examples on the Web On top of that, interest rates were meager, and the costs of acquisitions were low.

Dave Cantin, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022 Instability, or fuel for storms, will be plentiful, but wind dynamics will be meager.

Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 8 June 2022 The percentage of women on boards in Nasdaq companies was 30.4%, sitting much higher than the proportion of women on boards of Fortune 500, Russell 3000 and private companies (which come in at 26.5%, 26.7% and a meager 14%, respectively).

Olivia Peluso, Forbes, 9 June 2022 Only 8% of Manhattan office workers are back five days a week, and a meager 38% of employees in the office on an average weekday, per the Partnership of New York City.

Chloe Berger, Fortune, 9 June 2022 The all-season tires—only the CT4-V offers summers—limit grip to a meager 0.81 g.

Scott Oldham, Car and Driver, 14 Aug. 2020 But the meager growth still encouraged investors given the ongoing supply chain headwinds.

Grady Mcgregor, Fortune, 30 June 2022 Despite a meager growth in the top line, the firm managed to report a 65% y-o-y jump in the adjusted net income to $7.6 billion.

Trefis Team, Forbes, 3 June 2022 For instance, Gusto found that most of the job growth among the states that cut aid early stemmed from places with the highest vaccination rates, while those with low vaccination rates experienced meager job growth.

Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2021 See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English megre "thin, having little flesh from lack of food," borrowed from Anglo-French megre, maigre, going back to Latin macr-, macer "thin, lean, of little substance," going back to Indo-European *mh₂ḱ-ro- "long, thin," whence also Germanic *magra- "lean" (whence Old English mæger "lean," Old High German magar, Old Norse magr), Greek makrós "long, tall, high, large"; derivative in *-ro-, adjective suffix, of a base *meh₂ḱ-, *mh₂ḱ- seen also in Latin maciēs "bodily thinness, wasting," Greek mêkos "length," mḗkistos "longest, highest," Avestan masah- "length, greatness," masišta- "highest," Hittite maklant- "thin, slim (of animals)"

Note: Alternatively from Indo-European *maḱ- if a is accepted as a vowel, as the laryngeal h₂ is invoked solely to produce the right vocalism.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

meager

adjective

variants or meagre

as in sparse

less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable ever since he started the diet, his dinners have been more meager than he would like

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

sparse
scarce
poor
scant
scanty
skimpy
insufficient
lacking
lowest
inadequate
short
exiguous
stingy
slender
light
minimal
small
thin
sparing
skimp
slim
niggardly
spare
mere
hand-to-mouth
least
thin on the ground
deficient
slightest
bare-bones
bare
barren
littlest
sterile
wanting
unfruitful
slight
unproductive
infertile

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

adequate
ample
sufficient
abundant
generous
copious
plentiful
bountiful
enough
satisfactory
liberal
tolerable
rich
plenteous
fruitful
prolific
lavish
fertile
extra
fat
excess
surplus
fecund
bursting
luxuriant
flourishing
thriving
proliferative
teeming
blooming
swarming

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of meager are scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, and sparse. While all these words mean "falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable," meager implies the absence of elements, qualities, or numbers necessary to a thing's richness, substance, or potency.

a meager portion of meat

The synonyms scant and meager are sometimes interchangeable, but scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential.

in January the daylight hours are scant

The words scanty and meager can be used in similar contexts, but scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent.

supplies too scanty to last the winter

While in some cases nearly identical to meager, skimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency.

tacky housing developments on skimpy lots

The meanings of spare and meager largely overlap; however, spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity.

a spare, concise style of writing

The words sparse and meager are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, sparse implies a thin scattering of units.

a sparse population

单词	meager
释义	meager adjective mea·ger ˈmē-gər variants or meagre 1 : having little flesh : thin meager were his looks, sharp misery had worn him to the bones William Shakespeare 2 a : lacking desirable qualities (such as richness or strength) leading a meager life b : deficient in quality or quantity a meager diet meagerly adverb meagerness noun Synonyms exiguous hand-to-mouth light niggardly poor scant scanty scarce skimp skimpy slender slim spare sparing sparse stingy See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Every morning he eats a meager breakfast of toast and coffee. We'll have to do the best we can with this year's meager harvest. She came to this country with a fairly meager English vocabulary, but she is learning more words every day. They suffered through several meager years at the beginning of their marriage. Although she's now rich and famous, she remembers her meager beginnings as a child from a poor family. Recent Examples on the Web On top of that, interest rates were meager, and the costs of acquisitions were low. Dave Cantin, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022 Instability, or fuel for storms, will be plentiful, but wind dynamics will be meager. Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 8 June 2022 The percentage of women on boards in Nasdaq companies was 30.4%, sitting much higher than the proportion of women on boards of Fortune 500, Russell 3000 and private companies (which come in at 26.5%, 26.7% and a meager 14%, respectively). Olivia Peluso, Forbes, 9 June 2022 Only 8% of Manhattan office workers are back five days a week, and a meager 38% of employees in the office on an average weekday, per the Partnership of New York City. Chloe Berger, Fortune, 9 June 2022 The all-season tires—only the CT4-V offers summers—limit grip to a meager 0.81 g. Scott Oldham, Car and Driver, 14 Aug. 2020 But the meager growth still encouraged investors given the ongoing supply chain headwinds. Grady Mcgregor, Fortune, 30 June 2022 Despite a meager growth in the top line, the firm managed to report a 65% y-o-y jump in the adjusted net income to $7.6 billion. Trefis Team, Forbes, 3 June 2022 For instance, Gusto found that most of the job growth among the states that cut aid early stemmed from places with the highest vaccination rates, while those with low vaccination rates experienced meager job growth. Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2021 See More Word History Etymology Middle English megre "thin, having little flesh from lack of food," borrowed from Anglo-French megre, maigre, going back to Latin macr-, macer "thin, lean, of little substance," going back to Indo-European mh₂ḱ-ro- "long, thin," whence also Germanic magra- "lean" (whence Old English mæger "lean," Old High German magar, Old Norse magr), Greek makrós "long, tall, high, large"; derivative in -ro-, adjective suffix, of a base meh₂ḱ-, mh₂ḱ- seen also in Latin maciēs* "bodily thinness, wasting," Greek mêkos "length," mḗkistos "longest, highest," Avestan masah- "length, greatness," masišta- "highest," Hittite maklant- "thin, slim (of animals)" Note: Alternatively from Indo-European maḱ- if a is accepted as a vowel, as the laryngeal h₂ is invoked solely to produce the right vocalism. First Known Use 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Kids Definition meager adjective mea·ger variants or meagre ˈmē-gər 1 : not enough in quality or amount a meager* income 2 : having little flesh : thin meager adjective variants or meagre as in sparse less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable ever since he started the diet, his dinners have been more meager than he would like Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance sparse scarce poor scant scanty skimpy insufficient lacking lowest inadequate short exiguous stingy slender light minimal small thin sparing skimp slim niggardly spare mere hand-to-mouth least thin on the ground deficient slightest bare-bones bare barren littlest sterile wanting unfruitful slight unproductive infertile Antonyms & Near Antonyms adequate ample sufficient abundant generous copious plentiful bountiful enough satisfactory liberal tolerable rich plenteous fruitful prolific lavish fertile extra fat excess surplus fecund bursting luxuriant flourishing thriving proliferative teeming blooming swarming See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of meager are scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, and sparse. While all these words mean "falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable," meager implies the absence of elements, qualities, or numbers necessary to a thing's richness, substance, or potency. a meager portion of meat The synonyms scant and meager are sometimes interchangeable, but scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential. in January the daylight hours are scant The words scanty and meager can be used in similar contexts, but scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent. supplies too scanty to last the winter While in some cases nearly identical to meager, skimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency. tacky housing developments on skimpy lots The meanings of spare and meager largely overlap; however, spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity. a spare, concise style of writing The words sparse and meager are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, sparse implies a thin scattering of units. a sparse population
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meager

adjective

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

adjective

Synonym Chooser