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 of impoverished

• poor
• broke
• beggared
• deprived
• bankrupt

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

More recently, a rolling cast of content creators has taken to making day trips to Blackpool’s roughest wards to capitalize on the environs of its impoverished communities. — George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026

Inspired in part by the director’s first trips to New York City, the film depicts a seemingly perfect society sustained by impoverished workers who toil beneath its surface — literally. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Aug. 2026

Since then, the military have kept her exact whereabouts and condition secret as a deadly civil war has engulfed much of the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. — Helen Regan, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026

But for those who don’t see the unhoused, impoverished or vulnerable as human, deserving of rights or even life, Heimbach has some advice. — Trevor Morgan, Sacbee.com, 24 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1