Synonyms of impoverish

impoverish

verb

1

as in to pauperize

Related Words

• pauperize
• ruin
• bankrupt
• reduce
• beggar
• bust
• break
• wipe out
• straiten
• clean (out)

Dissimilar Words

• enrich
• richen

2

as in to deplete

Related Words

• deplete
• consume
• exhaust
• spend
• squander
• lose
• splurge
• waste
• lavish
• dissipate
• throw away
• overspend
• misspend
• run through
• blow
• trifle (away)
• shoot
• indulge
• expend
• fritter (away)
• fiddle away
• overindulge
• disburse
• lay out

Dissimilar Words

• protect
• preserve
• save
• conserve
• hoard
• lay up
• economize
• skimp
• scrimp

Synonym Chooser

How is the word impoverish distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of impoverish are bankrupt, deplete, drain, and exhaust. While all these words mean "to deprive of something essential to existence or potency," impoverish suggests a deprivation of something essential to richness or productiveness.

impoverished soil

When would bankrupt be a good substitute for impoverish?

In some situations, the words bankrupt and impoverish are roughly equivalent. However, bankrupt suggests impoverishment to the point of imminent collapse.

war had bankrupted the nation of resources

When might deplete be a better fit than impoverish?

The meanings of deplete and impoverish largely overlap; however, deplete implies a reduction in number or quantity so as to endanger the ability to function.

depleting our natural resources

When can drain be used instead of impoverish?

While in some cases nearly identical to impoverish, drain implies a gradual withdrawal and ultimate deprivation of what is necessary to an existence.

personal tragedy had drained him of all spirit

In what contexts can exhaust take the place of impoverish?

The words exhaust and impoverish are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, exhaust stresses a complete emptying.

her lecture exhausted the subject

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of impoverish

But were you really impoverished by buying from Costco? —Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025

Republicans have floated industry-destroying ideas like taxing college and university scholarships as income, which would instantaneously blow up thousands of budgets in higher education and impoverish millions of students. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025

With a not insubstantial piece of Mexico’s economy reliant on production stateside, a cessation of those inflows will logically impoverish a big number of those formerly sustained directly by remittances. —John Tamny, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025

That a short-term judgment about what the market will bear can choke off a literary legacy and, to some extent, impoverish a culture. —Mark Athitakis, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2024