immiseration

noun

im·​mis·​er·​a·​tion (ˌ)i(m)-ˌmi-zə-ˈrā-shən 

: the act of making miserable

especially : impoverishment

… the immiseration of the working class.

—C. R. Morris

immiserate

(ˌ)i(m)-ˈmi-zə-ˌrāt 

transitive verb

immiserated; immiserating; immiserates

What Keynes would have found most disheartening, perhaps, is how economic theory has been used to immiserate the lives of the bottom half of the population.

—Charles R. Morris

Examples of immiseration in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just as life in industrial urban centers in the nineteenth century caused hardship in rural villages, the profligate lifestyles enjoyed by those of us in the Global North are underwritten by the immiseration of those in the Global South. — Literary Hub, 23 July 2026

The four teen-agers—Cabey, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, and James Ramseur—came from the South Bronx at a time when the borough was still a national byword for immiseration and hopelessness. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026

Poverty, immiseration under Maduro fuel migration surge During his tenure as head of Venezuela, Maduro has presided over the arrests of thousands of political opponents, journalists and human rights advocates. — Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025

The result was chaos and immiseration and, ultimately, WWII. — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

in- entry 2 + miserable + -ation

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for immiseration

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration