What does meagre mean?
Word: Meagre
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Meagre means small in amount, and less than you need or hoped for.
Synonyms: scanty, paltry
Antonyms: plentiful, ample
How do you spell meagre?
Syllables: mea - gre
Tricky part: British English ends the word in -re, as it does with centre and theatre. Meager is the American spelling.
Watch out for: meagar, meagere
Memory tip: Write it the way a British theatre ticket would print it: the r comes before the final e.
Meagre in a sentence
Example 1: The farmers were worried about the meagre rainfall this July.
Example 2: After a meagre breakfast of one biscuit, Kabir was hungry by ten o'clock.
Example 3: The stall made only a meagre profit on the first day of the fair.
Fun Fact
Meagre goes back to the Latin word macer, meaning thin, so a meagre meal was first of all a lean one.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
meagre
a) slight
b) modest
c) abundant
d) sparse
Show answer
c) abundant. Sparse, slight and modest all suggest a small amount, which is close to the page word, not its opposite.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
m__gre
a) i, a
b) e, a
c) a, e
d) e, e
Show answer
b) e, a. The long ee sound here is spelt ea, as in meal and meat.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
meaggre
a) r
b) g
c) e
d) a
Show answer
b) g. A single g sits between the vowels and the r.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) frugel
b) meagre
c) insufficiant
d) inadequite
Show answer
b) meagre. Frugal ends in -al, inadequate ends in -ate, and insufficient ends in -ent.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these would you call a meagre lunch?
a) a large plate of pasta and salad
b) rice, lentils and two kinds of vegetables
c) a full roast dinner with three vegetables
d) half a slice of bread and a sip of water
Show answer
d) half a slice of bread and a sip of water
2. The pay was meagre, so the workers ____.
a) gave big gifts to everyone
b) saved a large amount each month
c) could barely pay their bills
d) bought new houses easily
Show answer
c) could barely pay their bills
