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

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

But the expansion expired at the end of 2021, and child poverty rates jumped back up after that. —Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024

Those subsidies are limited to people who earn up to four times the federal poverty level - or $60,240 this year for an individual. —Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024

Kansas is one of just 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which allowed adults with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $43,000 a year for a family of four, to qualify for the program. —Noah Weiland, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024

Likewise, the cost of living is lowest in states including Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Alabama, and yet these states fall in the national rankings due to factors such as higher senior poverty rates and Medicare spending. —Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2024

Dixie Canyon had 610 students last year and a poverty rate of about 25%. —Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024

My journey, from growing up in poverty to becoming a multimillion-dollar entrepreneur and life coach, is a testament to this. —Angela Quach, Forbes, 29 Mar. 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

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

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