Meager, Meagre, a.
Etymology: [OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. Emaciate, Maigre.]
1. Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean. Meager were his looks; Sharp misery had worn him to the bones. Shak.
2. Destitute of richness, fertility, strength, or the like; defective in quantity, or poor in quality; poor; barren; scanty in ideas; wanting strength of diction or affluence of imagery. "Meager soil." Dryden. Of secular habits and meager religious belief. I. Taylor. His education had been but meager. Motley.
3. (Min.)
Dry and harsh to the touch, as chalk.
1 more senses
Syn. -- Thin; lean; lank; gaunt; starved; hungry; poor; emaciated; scanty; barren.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Meager, Meagre, v. t.
To make lean. [Obs.]
Shades of meaning
Fernald lists meager only as an antonym, under perfect.
He lists it without comment; the entries above explain its neighbors.