penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.
a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury
want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure.
lived in a perpetual state of want
the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine
Examples of poverty in a Sentence
He was born in poverty.
There is a poverty of information about the disease.
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Yes, there’s violence, but that comes from poverty, lack of resources, and generations of neglect.—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025 He’d been born into poverty in rural Mississippi.—Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025 That includes the $15 billion Individuals with Disabilities Education Act program for students with disabilities and the $18 billion Title I program, which aids high-poverty schools.—Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2025 Another issue is that pushing people into poverty increases their reliance on government services.—Leila Gharagozlou, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for poverty
Word History
Etymology
Middle English poverte, from Anglo-French poverté, from Latin paupertat-, paupertas, from pauper poor — more at poor
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