Synonyms of penury

penury

noun

ˈpen-yə-rē 

as in poverty

the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions

lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury

Synonyms & Similar Words

• poverty
• misery
• impoverishment
• beggary
• indigence
• destitution
• pauperism
• necessity
• poorness
• neediness
• need
• deprivation
• impecuniousness
• impecuniosity
• penuriousness
• wretchedness
• privation
• bankruptcy
• woe
• want
• exigency
• destituteness
• emergency
• gutter
• insolvency
• rainy day
• austerity
• pinching
• belt-tightening
• straitening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealth
• affluence
• opulence
• richness
• prosperity
• wealthiness
• luxury

Synonym Chooser

How is the word penury distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of penury are destitution, indigence, poverty, and want. While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.

a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

Where would indigence be a reasonable alternative to penury?

The words indigence and penury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

the indigence of her years as a graduate student

When could poverty be used to replace penury?

In some situations, the words poverty and penury are roughly equivalent. However, poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

How are the words want and destitution related as synonyms of penury?

Both 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of penury

The Legislature, governor and unions need to respect our labor and not tax us into penury. —The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 28 Aug. 2025

Narrating this account of her brief life, Emily provides a sharp perspective on the penury and isolation that created such anguish — and such inspiration — for the Brontë sisters. —Alida Becker, New York Times, 30 May 2025

To give up their academic positions was to invite another round of penury, this time as men in their fifties. —Literary Hub, 28 May 2025

How will the military’s top brass respond to the country’s deepening penury, which risks sparking civil unrest? —Ivan Briscoe, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2019

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