meager
Hardly worth mentioning
Meager describes something barely sufficient or disappointingly small in quantity or quality: a meager salary, meager portions, meager evidence.
The word suggests falling short of what's needed or expected.
A meager meal leaves you hungry; meager savings won't last long.
Applied to people, meager means thin or gaunt, though this use is old-fashioned.
Barely adequate amount
- scantyInsufficient in amount
- sparseThinly scattered or distributed
- paltryContemptibly meager
- skimpyInadequate in size or amount
measly · insufficient · inadequate · limited · scarce · few · slight · nominal
Failing to satisfy expectations
- inadequateNot sufficient for purpose
- unfulfillingLacking emotional reward
- insufficientBelow required quantity
- wantingAbsent or insufficient
lackluster · paltry · poor · underwhelming · shabby · pitiful · sorry · pathetic
Thinly scattered or distributed
- strippedHad coverings removed
- starkSevere and unadorned
- barrenUnable to produce
- unadornedLacking decoration or ornament
austere · threadbare · empty · minimal · plain · basic · simple · frugal
Abnormally wasted from hunger
- gauntLean from deprivation
- undernourishedInsufficiently nourished
- malnourishedLacking proper nutrition
- famishedIntensely, painfully hungry
wasted · skeletal · bony · starving · thin · underfed · scrawny · haggard
Extremely lacking in money
- destituteUtterly without means
- indigentExtremely poor, lacking necessities
- penuryExtreme lack of money
- needyWanting in essentials
penniless · hand-to-mouth · subsistence · hardship · want · underprivileged · beggarly · poor
scant
Barely adequate amount
skimpy · measly · insufficient · inadequate · limited · scarce · few · slight · nominal · trifling
disappointing
Failing to satisfy expectations
- inadequateNot sufficient for purpose
- unfulfillingLacking emotional reward
- insufficientBelow required quantity
wanting · lackluster · paltry · poor · underwhelming · shabby · pitiful · sorry · pathetic · miserable
sparse
Thinly scattered or distributed
unadorned · austere · threadbare · empty · minimal · plain · basic · simple · frugal · ascetic
emaciated
Abnormally wasted from hunger
- gauntLean from deprivation
- undernourishedInsufficiently nourished
- malnourishedLacking proper nutrition
famished · wasted · skeletal · bony · starving · thin · underfed · scrawny · haggard · pinched
impoverished
Extremely lacking in money
- destituteUtterly without means
- indigentExtremely poor, lacking necessities
- penuryExtreme lack of money
needy · penniless · hand-to-mouth · subsistence · hardship · want · underprivileged · beggarly · poor · struggling