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

At the time of the crime, Furman was impoverished, had a sixth-grade education, and was living with serious mental illness. —Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026

Born in Manchester, England, the impoverished Lee went against the grain of the times. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026

Inevitably, this natural nobility comes into tragic conflict with the order of official power and with the disorder of impoverished striving. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2026

These holdings required the intense labor of impoverished farmworkers who were often forced from their traditional lands. —Aaron Coy Moulton, The Conversation, 15 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1