meager

[ mee-ger ]

adjective

1. deficient in quantity or quality; lacking fullness or richness; scanty; inadequate:

   a meager salary; meager fare; a meager harvest.

2. having little flesh; lean; thin:

   a body meager with hunger.

   Synonyms: skinny, spare, gaunt

3. maigre.

Other Words From

• meager·ly adverb
• meager·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of meager¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English megre, from Old French maigre, from Latin macer “lean”

Synonym Study

See scanty.

Example Sentences

Moguls disaffected with the Biden administration’s antitrust philosophy and meager attempts at corporate tax increases are already hungry for lower taxes, slashed regulations, revolving-door Cabinet members, more mergers, and more acquisitions.

From Slate

That effort started on the defensive end, just as Musselman promised it would, as the Trojans shut down Chattanooga on the perimeter, holding the Mocs to a meager 28% shooting from the field.

From Los Angeles Times

As of June 2024, the startup had an accumulated deficit of $122.8 million and meager cash reserves of just under $4 million.

From Los Angeles Times

More than a century ago, when it became clear the booming metropolis 300 miles to the south would very quickly dry up its own meager water supplies, its agents fanned out across the Owens Valley, buying up every acre they could find to secure rights to the precious snowmelt that flows down from the mountains each spring.

From Los Angeles Times

Those might seem like meager numbers for a player widely expected to be selected in the NFL draft this spring until you consider the ripple effect.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• insufficient
• mere
• minimum
• miserable
• paltry
• puny
• scant
• scanty
• skimpy
• sparse
• tenuous