meagre

/'mi:gə/ Cách viết khác : (meagre) /'mi:gə/

Thân thiện

The family's meagre meal consisted of a small loaf of bread and a single potato.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Deficient in amount, quantity, or richness; lacking fullness or abundance. Used to describe something that is insufficient, scanty, or poor in quality or extent.
   • Very thin or lean. Used to describe a person or animal that is excessively thin or emaciated.

Usage

• The adjective "meagre" is used to describe nouns directly. It often has a negative connotation, implying that something is less than adequate, desirable, or expected.
• It is typically placed before the noun it modifies (e.g., "a meagre portion") or after a linking verb (e.g., "The harvest was meagre").

Examples

• Describing insufficient amount or quality:

  • After the drought, the farmers harvested a meagre crop.
  • The company offered only a meagre salary increase.
  • They survived on a meagre diet of bread and water.

• Describing a thin or lean physical state:

  • The stray dog looked meagre and hungry.
  • His illness left him looking pale and meagre.

Advanced Usage

• "to be meagre in (something)": to be lacking or deficient in a particular aspect.
  • The report was meagre in useful details.
• Used in formal or literary contexts to emphasize stark insufficiency.
  • The evidence against the suspect was meagre at best.

Variants and Related Words

• Meagerly (adverb): in a meagre manner; scantily.
  • The room was meagerly furnished.
• Meagreness (noun): the state or quality of being meagre.
  • The meagreness of their resources was a constant worry.

Synonyms

• Scanty: barely sufficient or adequate.
• Paltry: ridiculously or insultingly small.
• Inadequate: not sufficient or acceptable.
• Sparse: thinly dispersed or scattered.
• Lean: (especially of a person) thin, especially healthily so; having little fat.

Antonyms

• Abundant: existing or available in large quantities; plentiful.
• Ample: enough or more than enough; plentiful.
• Copious: abundant in supply or quantity.
• Lavish: sumptuously rich, elaborate, or luxurious.
• Plentiful: existing in or yielding great quantities; abundant.

Idioms and Phrases

• A meagre existence: a life lived with barely enough resources to survive.
  • The refugees faced a meagre existence in the camp.
• Meagre pickings: a very small or unsatisfactory amount of something to be shared, especially profits or benefits.
  • After the big companies took their share, there were only meagre pickings left for the small suppliers.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. deficient in amount or quality or extent
   • meager resources
   • meager fare

Từ đồng nghĩa

• meager
• meagerly
• stingy
• scrimpy