Meagre salary lieutenant's right to divide (6)
I believe the answer is:
paltry
'meagre' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'salary lieutenant's right to divide' is the wordplay.
'salary' becomes 'pay' (synonyms).
'lieutenant' becomes 'lt' (abbreviation for lieutenant).
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'to divide' indicates putting letters inside (some letters create a division in others).
'lt'+'r'='ltr'
'pay' enclosing 'ltr' is 'PALTRY'.
(Other definitions for paltry that I've seen before include "Mean, petty" , "Mean - trifling" , "Petty - base" , "Worthless and trifling" , "Meagre, mean" .)