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

But the dead couple had become heroes to many on the tiny, impoverished island of 72,000. —Nina Burleigh, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 May 2024

Finding themselves impoverished in the city of light, Lempicka develops her artistic skills. —Frank Rizzo, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1