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 WebIn 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
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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