meager

adjective

ˈmē-gər How to pronounce meager (audio)
variants or meagre
Definition of meagernext
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective meager differ from other similar words?

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

When is scant a more appropriate choice than meager?

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

When would scanty be a good substitute for meager?

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

When can skimpy be used instead of meager?

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

When might spare be a better fit than meager?

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

In what contexts can sparse take the place of meager?

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

a sparse population

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of meager The team was valued that year at a meager $360 million, according to Forbes. —Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 18 July 2025 In fact, his meager .671 at the All-Star break this year would be a career high. —Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 July 2025 From the fourth quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2025, Millar estimates the economy will grow a meager 0.5%, compared to 2.5% the prior year. —Paul Davidson, USA Today, 13 July 2025 And, like so many redevelopment projects across the nation, even the meager promises of new housing for Aurora and her neighbors were never kept. —James Burling, Oc Register, 13 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for meager
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meager
  1. sparse
  2. scarce
  3. poor
Adjective
  • In her prominent book Atlas of AI, renowned Microsoft researcher and academic Kate Crawford documents the vast extractive needs of AI but notes that detailed analysis of materials that will be needed has been sparse.
    — Saleem H. Ali, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
  • Regulations in Hong Kong around the technology are currently sparse.
    — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 17 July 2025
Definition of sparse
Adjective
  • While specific details of his early childhood are scarce, Weller came of age during a time when distilling was a booming regional industry, often run by farmers and small-business operators who combined their agricultural production with whiskey making.
    — Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 26 July 2025
  • Details after paramedics whisked Valdes away are scarce, her friend says, as no one was allowed to ride with her to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where she was later pronounced dead.
    — Isabel Rivera, Miami Herald, 24 July 2025
Definition of scarce
Adjective
  • Spurred by climate change, Canadian wildfires have increasingly exacerbated poor air quality across Milwaukee and southern Wisconsin.
    — Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 24 July 2025
  • Of course, poor Michael Landon had passed away way too young.
    — Angela Andaloro, People.com, 23 July 2025
Definition of poor

Browse Nearby Words

meads
meager
meagerly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Meager.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meager. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on meager

Nglish: Translation of meager for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Better Ways to Say 'This Sucks'

8 Words with Fascinating Histories
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All