meagreness
/'mi:gənis/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The quality or state of being meager: This refers to a condition of being deficient in quantity, fullness, richness, or substance. It describes something that is lacking in what is necessary for adequacy, often implying thinness, scantiness, or poverty.
Usage
- Meagreness is an abstract noun used to describe the characteristic of something that is insufficient, scanty, or lean. It is often applied to resources, amounts, descriptions, or physical attributes.
- It typically carries a negative connotation, suggesting that what is present is less than what is needed, expected, or desired.
Examples
- The meagreness of the harvest led to food shortages in the village.
- Despite his efforts, the report was criticized for the meagreness of its data.
- She was struck by the meagreness of the evidence presented in court.
- The meagreness of his salary made it difficult to support his family.
Advanced Usage
- "An exiguity of cloth that would only allow of miniature capes": This literary example (from George Eliot) uses 'exiguity' as a synonym for meagreness, vividly illustrating a severe scantiness of material.
- Meagreness can be used in formal or literary contexts to critique the inadequacy of something, such as an argument, a diet, or an offering.
Variants and Related Words
- Meager (adj): deficient in quantity or quality; lean, scanty.
- They survived on a meager diet of bread and soup.
- Meagerly (adv): in a meager manner; scantily.
- The room was meagerly furnished.
Synonyms
- Scantiness: The quality of being barely sufficient or inadequate in amount.
- Inadequacy: The state of being insufficient for a purpose.
- Paucity: The presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities.
- Sparseness: The quality of being thinly dispersed or scattered; scantiness.
- Poverty: The state of being extremely poor; here, it can metaphorically mean a lack of desirable ingredients or qualities.
Antonyms
- Abundance: A very large quantity of something.
- Plenitude: An abundance.
- Ampleness: The quality of being plentiful or spacious.
- Richness: The state of existing in plentiful quantities; possessing abundant and desirable qualities.
Notes
- The primary spelling is meagreness in British English, while meagerness is the common American English spelling. Both are correct.
- As an abstract noun, it is not typically used in plural form. It describes a singular quality or state.
Noun
- the quality of being meager
- an exiguity of cloth that would only allow of miniature capes-George Eliot