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.
Recent Examples on the WebThe trial is a spotlight on the woes of a country plagued by corruption, poverty and lawlessness.—Wesley Parnell, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024 People eligible for debt relief include those with an income up to 400% of the federal poverty level or who owe medical bills equal to 5% or more of their annual income, Smedsrud said.—Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 4 Mar. 2024 Taylor Wilson: Deborah, how does the issue of poverty factor in here?—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024 Nearly 40 percent of the country lives in poverty, close to 14 percent in what is classified as extreme.—Toby Muse, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 Nearly 40% of families in this district live below the poverty level.—Raymond Pierce, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Though it was previously believed this practice was followed by people in poverty out of necessity — by reusing household wares to bury the dead — more recent developments understand the practice as linked to rituals of rebirth.—Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024 The abject poverty and debt faced by many of India’s farmers has forced some to take extreme measures.—Rhea Mogul, CNN, 26 Feb. 2024 Schools in low-income areas tend to see bigger dips
Schools with a high proportion of students living at or near poverty — as measured by the proportion of students on free or reduced lunch — often saw larger declines in test scores than schools in wealthier areas.—Phillip Reese, Sacramento Bee, 22 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poverty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English poverte, from Anglo-French poverté, from Latin paupertat-, paupertas, from pauper poor — more at poor
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