meagerness
meagerness Lexical Profile
meagerness Game Scores & Validity
• noun
American The state or quality of being deficient in quantity, fullness, or richness; scantiness or inadequacy.
"The meagerness of the harvest forced the villagers to ration their grain throughout the winter."
American The condition of being physically thin, lean, or emaciated.
"The stray dog's extreme meagerness showed that it had been wandering without food for weeks."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Meagerness" is the standard American English spelling, whereas "meagreness" is preferred in British and Commonwealth English.
• Rhymes for meagerness
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in English from the adjective "meager" plus the suffix "-ness"; "meager" derives from Middle English "megre," borrowed from Old French "maigre" and ultimately from Latin "macer," meaning "lean" or "thin."
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.