Main Entry: mea·ger

Variant(s): or mea·gre \ˈmē-gər\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English megre, from Anglo-French megre, meigre, from Latin macr-, macer lean; akin to Old English mæger lean, Greek makros long

Date: 14th century

1 : having little flesh : thin
2 a : lacking desirable qualities (as richness or strength) <leading a meager life> b : deficient in quality or quantity <a meager diet>

— mea·ger·ly adverb

— mea·ger·ness noun

synonyms meager, scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, sparse 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>. scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent <supplies too scanty to last the winter>. scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential <in January the daylight hours are scant>. skimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency <tacky housing developments on skimpy lots>. spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity <a spare, concise style of writing>. sparse implies a thin scattering of units <a sparse population>.