variants or meagre
Definition of meagernext

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 Insert the Sharks, who have $50 million in cap space, and a talented young goalie with a meager $2 million cap hit. Jesse Granger, New York Times, 25 June 2026 Fool Night, Kasumi Yasuda’s manga that first came out in 2020, is set in a world facing a serious oxygen shortage, as humanity builds a society that relies on the meager amount of oxygen provided by a technology called Transfloration. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 23 June 2026 The mayor, having failed to convince Albany to raise other taxes that matter emotionally to his base, had to make a meager win seem meaningful. Bradley Tusk, New York Daily News, 20 June 2026 For many garden moms, daily cannabis use is a balm for the impossible math of modern motherhood, where the demands are high and support systems tend to be meager. Sarah Levy, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for meager
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meager
Adjective
  • Already, reports of sparse crowds have marred the Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair on the National Mall, the Daily Beast said.
    Martha Ross, Mercury News, 2 July 2026
  • In North Platte, Nebraska, vegetation is much sparser with drier soils.
    Trey Fulbright, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Adjective
  • Rats are burrowing into aid parcels, forcing people to throw away scarce rice or flour supplies.
    Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
  • Managing scarcity through digital modeling While deuterium is highly abundant and easily extracted from standard seawater, tritium is exceedingly scarce in nature.
    Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 5 July 2026
Adjective
  • Because of that, these hands suffer from high production costs, poor durability against impacts, short operational lifespans, and there are no existing solutions that engineers can readily draw upon, Wang added.
    John Liu, CNN Money, 30 June 2026
  • The extreme heat can also affect people who are physically ill, especially those with heart disease or high blood pressure, or who take certain medications, such as for depression, insomnia, or poor circulation.
    Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Meager.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meager. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.

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