meager
Adjective
Medium difficulty
What does “meager” mean?
adjective.(of something provided or available) lacking in quantity or quality.
SAT Usage
this term often appears in passages discussing scarcity, poverty, or insufficient resources, emphasizing a sense of inadequacy or dissatisfaction with what is available. It suggests a more pronounced deficiency than similar words like "insufficient," which may not carry the same connotation of disappointment or struggle.
Common Confusions
Meager implies a significant lack or insufficiency in quantity or quality, while sparse usually suggests a thin distribution that may still be adequate in some contexts.
Do not choose meager if the context emphasizes abundance or richness rather than lacking in quantity or quality.
Example Sentences
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A meager piece of cake in one bite.