mea·ger (US) or Brit mea·gre 
/ˈmi:gɚ/ adjective
/ˈmi:gɚ/ adjective [more meager; most meager] 1 : very small or too small in amount
▪ Every morning he eats a meager breakfast of toast and coffee. ▪ We'll have to do the best we can with this year's meager harvest. ▪ meager wages ▪ She came to this country with a fairly meager English vocabulary, but she is learning more words every day. 2 : not having enough of something (such as money or food) for comfort or happiness
▪ They suffered through several meager years at the beginning of their marriage. ▪ Although she's now rich and famous, she remembers her meager beginnings as a child from a poor family.
▪ Every morning he eats a meager breakfast of toast and coffee. ▪ We'll have to do the best we can with this year's meager harvest. ▪ meager wages ▪ She came to this country with a fairly meager English vocabulary, but she is learning more words every day.
▪ They suffered through several meager years at the beginning of their marriage. ▪ Although she's now rich and famous, she remembers her meager beginnings as a child from a poor family.
— mea·ger·ly adverb
▪ They lived meagerly in order to save money.
▪ They lived meagerly in order to save money.
— mea·ger·ness noun [noncount]
synonyms meager, scanty, and sparse mean not having enough of what is normal, necessary, or wanted. meager suggests a lack of good or necessary things.
▪ They lived on a meager diet of rice and vegetables. ▪ She earned a meager income of five dollars a day. scanty stresses that something is not large enough in size or amount. ▪ She was wearing a scanty black dress. ▪ We had a scanty supply of water. sparse suggests a small number of things or people that are far apart. ▪ His hair had become white and sparse. ▪ It's a large country with a sparse population.
▪ They lived on a meager diet of rice and vegetables. ▪ She earned a meager income of five dollars a day. scanty stresses that something is not large enough in size or amount. ▪ She was wearing a scanty black dress. ▪ We had a scanty supply of water. sparse suggests a small number of things or people that are far apart. ▪ His hair had become white and sparse. ▪ It's a large country with a sparse population.
