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.
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
That view wasn't shared by Lizzie Meager, who said Mr Biden's Westbourne connection was news to her.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2021
Meager wages make the work-home trade-off harder to justify, even if the loss of a second paycheck may lower a family’s standard of living.
From New York Times • Jun. 3, 2020
Meager pay by Western standards, it was several times more than state salaries for doctors working inside Cuba — and his primary motivation, he said, for accepting the assignments.
From Washington Post • Apr. 10, 2020
When the policeman came for Mr. Emilius, Mr. Meager was gone.
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.
