poverty

pov·er·ty

noun, often attributive \ˈpä-vər-tē\

Definition of POVERTY

1

a : the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions

b : renunciation as a member of a religious order of the right as an individual to own property

2

: scarcity, dearth

3

a : debility due to malnutrition

b : lack of fertility

Examples of POVERTY

1. He was born in poverty.
2. There is a poverty of information about the disease.

Origin of POVERTY

Middle English poverte, from Anglo-French poverté, from Latin paupertat-, paupertas, from pauper poor — more at poor

First Known Use: 12th century

Related to POVERTY

Synonyms

beggary, destituteness, destitution, impecuniosity, impecuniousness, impoverishment, indigence, necessity, need, neediness, pauperism, penuriousness, penury, poorness, want

Antonyms

affluence, opulence, richness, wealth, wealthiness

Related Words

gutter, misery, woe, wretchedness; exigency; emergency, rainy day; austerity, deprivation, privation; bankruptcy, insolvency; belt-tightening, pinching, straitening

Near Antonyms

luxury, prosperity

Synonym Discussion of POVERTY

poverty, indigence, penury, want, destitution mean the state of one with insufficient resources. poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts <the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers>. indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances <the indigence of her years as a graduate student>. penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money <a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury>. want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure <lived in a perpetual state of want> <the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine>.

pov·er·ty

noun \ˈpäv-ərt-ē\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; pov·er·ties

Medical Definition of POVERTY

: debility due to malnutrition <evidence of poverty in calves>