exiguous
Meager in quantity
Exiguous means extremely scanty or meager—barely sufficient or woefully inadequate.
The word is formal and literary, often describing resources, space, or portions that fall short of what's needed: The exiguous salary barely covered rent.
They survived on exiguous rations.
It suggests not just smallness but insufficiency.
Deficient in quantity
- scantyInsufficient in amount
- sparseThinly scattered or distributed
- paltryContemptibly meager
- skimpyInadequate in size or amount
slight · slender · measly · puny · pittance · insufficient · inadequate · deficient
Forced into narrow limits
- boundedConfined within limits
- circumscribedConfined within bounds
- confinedKept within bounds
- narrowOf small width
curtailed · limited · finite · constricted · cramped · tight · pinched · squeezed
Held in reserve
- frugalSparing with resources
- parsimoniousExcessively unwilling to spend
- abstemiousPracticing restraint with indulgences
- asceticOne who renounces indulgence
spartan · lean · stripped · bare-bones · minimal · unadorned · stark · plain
meager
Deficient in quantity
skimpy · slight · slender · measly · puny · pittance · insufficient · inadequate · deficient · scarce
constrained
Forced into narrow limits
- boundedConfined within limits
- circumscribedConfined within bounds
- confinedKept within bounds
narrow · curtailed · limited · finite · constricted · cramped · tight · pinched · squeezed · straitened
spare
Held in reserve
- frugalSparing with resources
- parsimoniousExcessively unwilling to spend
- abstemiousPracticing restraint with indulgences
ascetic · spartan · lean · stripped · bare-bones · minimal · unadorned · stark · plain · modest