as in poverty
the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions
too many people are homeless and living in shameful beggary in this country
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Recent Examples of beggary
Hence his need to construct an elaborate scheme of beggary that seems to have involved the bills being paid initially by the Cabinet office, then by the Conservative Party, then by a private donor, and finally, and only after the whole affair became a political embarrassment, by Johnson himself.
—
Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 13 May 2021
Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 13 May 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beggary
Noun
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California, for instance, is making up for the loss of premium tax credits, but only for ACA enrollees who earn up to 150% of the federal poverty level.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Maisie is a throw-away child in 1910, captivated by a poster of a magical French carousel, when an aunt snatches her out of poverty and takes her into the home of her wealthy employer, a British lord.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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This week’s massive winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on at least 19 states, including those like Texas and Tennessee that are less prepared to deal with the miseries of winter weather.—
Amy Feldman,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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But apartheid brought immense unhappiness and misery to white South Africans, too.—
Eve Fairbanks,
The Dial,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In the summer of 2021 protests began over the shortages and the penuries that people had been feeling.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
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The Legislature, governor and unions need to respect our labor and not tax us into penury.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Beggary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beggary. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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