poverty

noun

pov·​er·​ty ˈpä-vər-tē 

often attributive

1

a

: the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions

b

: renunciation as a member of a religious order of the right as an individual to own property

2

: scarcity, dearth

3

a

: debility due to malnutrition

b

: lack of fertility

Synonyms

• beggary
• destituteness
• destitution
• impecuniosity
• impecuniousness
• impoverishment
• indigence
• necessity
• need
• neediness
• pauperism
• penuriousness
• penury
• poorness
• want

Choose the Right Synonym for poverty

poverty, indigence, penury, want, destitution mean the state of one with insufficient resources.

poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

the indigence of her years as a graduate student

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 Web

In the meantime, nearly 82 percent of Venezuelans live in poverty, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. —Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024

Yet most of those Americans are financially unprepared to stop working, and many risk living in poverty, according to a new analysis. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024

The President’s budget calls for reinstating the Advance Child Tax Credit, which increased the credit to up to $300 a month per child and cut poverty for Black children in half in 2021. —Essence, 17 Apr. 2024

Though the benefits provided by old-growth forests accrue over centuries and cannot be fully replaced by planting new trees, Trees for the Future says its agroforestry approach breaks cycles of poverty and benefits the land. —Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Apr. 2024

The chronic shortage drives up housing costs, which are the major factors in California’s having the nation’s highest level of poverty, according to Census Bureau calculations that include living costs, and contributes to homelessness. —Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024

Land redistribution ruined many families; artists and intellectuals were stifled and often outright killed; political opponents were tortured and murdered; and over the coming decades the country was plagued by famine, poverty and the suppression of free speech. —Nick Hilden, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024

This rural county of 1,100 people has no hospitals, one of the highest poverty rates in the country, and 1 in 4 babies is born weighing less than 5 pounds 8 ounces. —Jeremy Ney, TIME, 9 Apr. 2024

His policies haven’t come without consequence: One study found that the poverty rate reached 57%, the highest it’s been in two decades. —Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English poverte, from Anglo-French poverté, from Latin paupertat-, paupertas, from pauper poor — more at poor

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing poverty

• anti-poverty
• poverty line
• poverty-stricken
• poverty trap
• the poverty line

Kids Definition

poverty

noun

pov·​er·​ty ˈpäv-ərt-ē 

1

: the state of being poor : lack of money or possessions : want

2

: a small supply : dearth

a poverty of information about the new disease

3

: lack of fertility

poverty of the soil

Medical Definition

poverty

noun

pov·​er·​ty ˈpäv-ərt-ē 

plural poverties

: debility due to malnutrition

evidence of poverty in calves