exiguous

ex·i·gu·ous
E1X8I1G2U1O1U1S1
/ɪɡˈzɪ.ɡju.əs//ɛɡˈzɪ.ɡju.əs/

adjective

Scanty; meager.

Scrabble 16

Meanings

adjectiveexiguous (comparative more exiguous, superlative most exiguous)

comparative more exiguous · superlative most exiguous

  1. Scanty; meager.

    2012 — Rodger Cohen, Scottexalonia Rising, New York Times, Nov. 26., Op. Ed. National politics, as President François Hollande of France is only the latest to discover, is often no more than tweaking at the margins in the exiguous political space left by markets and other global forces.

    4 more examples

    The herdboy in the broom, already musical in the days of Father Chaucer, startles (and perhaps pains) the lark with this exiguous pipe.

    1889, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Wrong Box ch XIII

    The path on which I then planted my feet was quite unprecedentedly narrow. I had never had to walk along a thoroughfare so exiguous.

    1912, G. K. Chesterton, Manalive ch VII

    They are entering the market, setting up stalls on snowy streets, moonlighting to supplement exiguous incomes.

    1998 February 6, Michael Ignatieff, “Rebirth of a Nation: An Anatomy of Russia”, in New Statesman

    Among the pressures provoking these distresses were a father's financial inadequacy and a growing awareness that, by finding employment himself, he could ameliorate the family's exiguous circumstances.

    2001, Terence Brown, The Life of W. B. Yeats: A Critical Biography

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveextremely scanty

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinexiguus“strict, exact”
  2. Englishexiguous

From Latin exiguus (“strict, exact”), from exigere (“to measure against a standard”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian оскъден, незначителен
  • оскъден (oskăden)extremely scanty
  • незначителен (neznačitelen)extremely scanty
Catalan exigu
  • exiguextremely scanty
French exigu
  • exiguextremely scanty
Italian esiguo
  • esiguoextremely scanty
Polish skąpy, znikomy
  • skąpyextremely scanty
  • znikomyextremely scanty
  • szczupłyextremely scanty
Portuguese exíguo
  • exíguoextremely scanty
Russian ску́дный
  • ску́дный (skúdnyj)extremely scanty
Spanish exiguo
  • exiguoextremely scanty
Ukrainian незначний, малий
  • незначний (neznačnyj)extremely scanty
  • малий (malyj)extremely scanty
  • мізерний (mizernyj)extremely scanty

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with exiguous

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

exiguous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exiguous

MLA

“exiguous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exiguous. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “exiguous,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exiguous.

Source: exiguous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.