impoverished

adjective

im·​pov·​er·​ished im-ˈpä-v(ə-)risht 

1

: reduced to poverty : poor

an impoverished family/community

2

: exhausted of richness or fertility

impoverished soils

3

of a fauna or flora : represented by few species or individuals

Synonyms

• beggared
• beggarly
• broke
• destitute
• dirt-poor
• down-and-out
• famished
• hard up
• impecunious
• indigent
• necessitous
• needful
• needy
• pauperized
• penniless
• penurious
• poor
• poverty-stricken
• skint [chiefly British]
• threadbare

Examples of impoverished in a Sentence

the widespread hope that the lottery's record-setting jackpot is won by an impoverished family

an impoverished field that over the years had been overgrazed

Recent Examples on the Web

The impoverished duke needs Gladys' dowry to prop up his family's estate, and Bertha may have promised him a bit too much without informing George or taking Gladys' wishes into account. —Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 23 June 2025

Known collectively as Hessians, since most Germans hired by London to fight in America came from Hesse-Kassel, this contingent was largely from the small, impoverished duchy of Brunswick, whose ruling family had intermarried with the British royal family. —/ Cbs News, CBS News, 13 June 2025

McGovern-Dole funds school meals for hungry children in impoverished countries. —William Lambers, Baltimore Sun, 12 June 2025

NTDs are a variety of conditions that are mostly found among impoverished communities in tropical areas of the world. —Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1