meager
AmericanSynonym Usage
See scanty.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of meager
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English megre, from Old French maigre, from Latin macer “lean”
Explanation
Meager means small and often applies to portions. Your mother may only allow you a meager serving of chocolate cake, and you may need to eat a meager serving of veggies in order to deserve that dessert. Meager doesn't mean adequate — it means not enough. People with a limited supply of food may try to subsist on meager portions. People who make a meager amount of money probably have a hard time making rent. Meager and emaciated both derive from the Old French maigre. If you can remember that you will look emaciated if your diet is meager, you’ll use the word correctly.
Vocabulary lists containing meager
List 1
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Tuck Everlasting
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was tested in Canada's Athabasca glacier and Mount Meager volcano.
From BBC • Apr. 12, 2023
Meager rations were provided, and all but the sickest were expected to toil at menial jobs to generate revenue, either on the premises or at factories.
From New York Times • Dec. 23, 2021
Meager funding of healthcare, at just 1.6% of India’s GDP, is less, proportionately, than what Laos or Ethiopia spends.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 25, 2021
Meager because Ryan, an Irish writer best known for his debut novel, “The Spinning Heart,” abides with a character only long enough to lay bare his particular emotional trauma before segueing to another tortured soul.
From Washington Post • Jul. 16, 2018
"Yes, it was, Ma'am, and he took that key—unbeknownst to us," said Mrs. Meager.
From Phineas Redux by Trollope, Anthony
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
