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

As Richardson, a dancer, wrote in her biography, My Life in E-Flat, that area of the Lower East Side was Ukrainian and impoverished at the time, and the house had five families living in it, one per floor. —Kim Velsey, Curbed, 4 Dec. 2025

Cinema sometimes has to know how to give in to a cause, but another thing entirely is to impoverish cinema by attributing to documentary cinema a mere and strict role of denunciation. —Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025

Clearly, holding single parents legally responsible for incautious, negligent or irresponsible parenting could fill up jails and prisons and impoverish such families completely and radically. —Ellen Sauerbrey, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2025

But beyond ramifications for China abroad, the campaign risks impoverishing the richness of Chinese society at home. —Haiyun Ma, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2023