2 syllables: Mea, gre. Stress on Mea.
MEE-gur
/ˈmiːɡɚ/
Meagre is pronounced MEE-gur (/ˈmiːɡɚ/). It has two syllables (Mea-gre), with the stress on "Mea". Meagre is an adjective (often used as a noun in some dialects) meaning insufficient or small in amount or quantity, typically with a sense of being disappointing or inadequate. It contrasts with abundance and is used to describe resources, budgets, or offerings that fall short of what is expected. In British English, meagre can be common; in American usage, meager with the American spelling is more typical, though meagre remains understood in literary or formal contexts.
nounMeagre is an adjective (often used as a noun in some dialects) meaning insufficient or small in amount or quantity, typically with a sense of being disappointing or inadequate. It contrasts with abundance and is used to describe resources, budgets, or offerings that fall short of what is expected. In British English, meagre can be common; in American usage, meager with the American spelling is more typical, though meagre remains understood in literary or formal contexts.
How to Pronounce Meagre
"The refugees received a meagre allowance that barely covered food."
"Despite years of effort, the team produced a meagre improvement in performance."
"The charity deemed the donations meagre for their ambitious goal."
Pronounce it as MEA-ger, with the primary stress on the first syllable. In IPA: US /ˈmiːɡər/, UK/Australian /ˈmiːɡə/. Start with a long /iː/ as in ‘meet’, then /ɡ/ as in ‘go’, and end with a schwa or weaker /ər/ depending on accent. If you’re listening to audio, look for prnounce sources and align your tongue to a high front position for the /iː/ and a velar stop for /ɡ/ blended into a light final vowel.
Common errors include reducing the /iː/ to a short /ɪ/ as in ‘met’, producing an affricate-like /dʒ/ instead of /ɡ/, and misplacing the final vowel as a full syllable rather than a reduced /ə/. To correct: keep the first vowel long, articulate a clean velar /ɡ/, and let the final vowel be a quick, unstressed /ə/ or /ər/ depending on rhythm. Practice by thinking MEA-ger with a crisp stop and a light, quick ending.
In US: /ˈmiːɡər/ with rhotic /ɹ/ ending and a clear /ər/. In UK/AU: /ˈmiːɡə/ or /ˈmiːɡəɹ/ depending on rhoticity and connected speech; UK usually ends with a non-rhotic /ə/ or a linking /ɹ/ in some dialects. The key differences are vowel quality of the first syllable (/iː/ remains long in all), and the final vowel: rhotic US allows a pronounced /ɹ/; non-rhotic UK/AU makes the final vowel shorter and more centralized. Listen to reputable sources to hear the subtle vowel lengths and linking.
The challenge is maintaining a long /iː/ before a velar /ɡ/ and then delivering a reduced final sound (/ə/ or /ɚ/). English has subtle timing: if the /ɡ/ blends into a heavy /ər/ you’ll distort the rhythm, and the final schwa varies by accent. Also avoid turning /ɡə/ into an explicit /ɡɚ/ in non-rhotic dialects. Practice steady mouth position for /iː/ and a crisp stop for /ɡ/, then ease into a soft ending.
There are no silent letters; all letters contribute to pronunciation. The challenge lies in delivering the long /iː/ and a clear /ɡ/ before the final unstressed vowel. Ensure you don’t skip the /ɡ/ or blend it into a softer /ɡ/; keep the syllable division MEA-ger. In connected speech, the second syllable reduces quickly to /ə/ or /ər/ depending on accent.
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Meagre originates from the Old English word maeger or magor, tied to the Proto-Germanic mag- meaning greater or large but used ironically as minimal or scant in some contexts. The form meagre emerged in Middle and Early Modern English as an alternative spelling to meager, influenced by French maigre (thin, meager) and Latin macer (lean). It carried the nuance of scarcity rather than mere smallness, often used in moral or evaluative phrases. In British English, meagre has been in continuous use since the 14th century, with early literary appearances in poetry and religious tracts highlighting famine or austere provisions. By the 18th and 19th centuries, meager and meagre coexisted, with regional preferences: British writers favored meagre, while American publishers leaned toward meager, though many British texts retained meagre for formal tone. In contemporary use, meagre still appears in formal or literary registers, while meager is the dominant spelling in American English. The sense-shift toward qualitative insufficiency (not just scant quantity, but lacking adequacy) remains central to its meaning. First known uses often appear in moral critiques or descriptions of poverty, where the adjective conveys both quantity and value, emphasizing a deficit relative to expectations.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Meagre" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Meagre" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Meagre"
-ger sounds
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