[mea.ger] or mea.gre adj [ME megre, fr. MF maigre, fr. L macr-, macer lean; akin to OE maeger lean, Gk makros long] (14c) 1: having little flesh: thin
2. a: lacking desirable qualities (as richness or strength) "leading a ~ life" b: deficient in quality or quantity "a ~ diet" -- mea.ger.ly adv -- mea.ger.ness n syn 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 usu. 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".