as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
growing up dirt-poor in the rural South
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Recent Examples of dirt-poor
The tough, ingenious (and dirt-poor) Houthis, protected by Yemen’s mountainous interior, fought back with the tenacity of drug-resistant microbes.
—
Seth Harp, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
But the Shoutin’, Rick Bragg’s first family memoir about growing up dirt-poor in Alabama.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Many readers addressed their fan letters not to the author, Betty Smith, but to her main character, Francie Nolan, a dirt-poor tenement child with big dreams.
—Perri Klass, The New Yorker, 30 Dec. 2024
Shot in a single take, Night Shift tells the story of a desperate and dirt-poor Khun (played by Chatchai), who decides to pack things up to have a better life in the city.
—Sara Merican, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2024
My mom grew up with very-not-amicably divorced parents, one of whom (her father) was well-off and the other (her mother, the primary parent) was dirt-poor.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 12 Aug. 2024
Like their grandmother, the village girl from Italy’s dirt-poor south who morphed into a sophisticated Parisian muse, the siblings’ identities are hard to pin down.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 3 Aug. 2024
However, through decades of hard work, focus and persistence, the dirt-poor farm laborer became a space traveler.
—Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 23 Apr. 2024
When Nitish Kumar became chief minister of the dirt-poor Indian state of Bihar in 2005, kidnapping was said to be the leading industry in the capital city of Patna.
—Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2013
Seth Harp, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
But the Shoutin’, Rick Bragg’s first family memoir about growing up dirt-poor in Alabama.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Many readers addressed their fan letters not to the author, Betty Smith, but to her main character, Francie Nolan, a dirt-poor tenement child with big dreams.
—Perri Klass, The New Yorker, 30 Dec. 2024
Shot in a single take, Night Shift tells the story of a desperate and dirt-poor Khun (played by Chatchai), who decides to pack things up to have a better life in the city.
—Sara Merican, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2024
My mom grew up with very-not-amicably divorced parents, one of whom (her father) was well-off and the other (her mother, the primary parent) was dirt-poor.
—R29 Team, refinery29.com, 12 Aug. 2024
Like their grandmother, the village girl from Italy’s dirt-poor south who morphed into a sophisticated Parisian muse, the siblings’ identities are hard to pin down.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 3 Aug. 2024
However, through decades of hard work, focus and persistence, the dirt-poor farm laborer became a space traveler.
—Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 23 Apr. 2024
When Nitish Kumar became chief minister of the dirt-poor Indian state of Bihar in 2005, kidnapping was said to be the leading industry in the capital city of Patna.
—Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dirt-poor
Adjective
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But the Shah’s failure to provide support to the peasants led to their farms failing, and sent waves of impoverished migrants to Tehran and other Iranian cities—many of whom would later fuel the 1979 revolution.—
Nik Kowsar,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
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Her existence in the vibrant capital city of Sepphoris brings into questions some of our traditional assumptions of Mary as an impoverished illiterate from a backwater rural village with no exposure to Greco-Roman culture.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Similar protests occurred in Brazil over steep living costs and poor healthcare and education ahead of the country hosting the 2014 World Cup tournament.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Over time, dysfunctional breathing reinforces poor posture and scapular instability.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dirt-poor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dirt-poor. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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