impoverish

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impoverish The alternative — concentrating AI benefits among capital owners while leaving displaced workers impoverished—is economically counterproductive. Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for impoverish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impoverish
Verb
  • Ironically, in Cuba, a country pauperized by a Marxist model for the past 61 years, there is a growing public cry demanding change.
    Otto Reich, National Review, 8 Apr. 2020
Verb
  • Miami’s secondary was already depleted by injury after losing Artie Burns to a season-ending knee injury on the first day of training camp, Kader Kohou to a season-ending knee injury in the first week of training camp.
    Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Once all the easy-to-access food sources are depleted, squirrels chew through plastic, wood, or house siding to find more.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.
    Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Our family has been ruined by Denise's lies of promising to end a year-long affair.
    Stephanie Wenger, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Smoke remains visible near Patterson Bluff and Dinkey Creek as fuels continue to consume in the fire perimeter.
    CA WILDFIRE BOT, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Conversely, consuming healthy amounts of iron and vitamin D was associated with hair growth.
    Brian Mastroianni, Health, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • See video … WATCH TOM HOMAN – With a secure border, the US is bankrupting cartels.
    , FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Multiple rocket explosions nearly bankrupted the company.
    Joel Shulman, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • With all other options seemingly exhausted, Una and Spock decide to take another path by getting in touch with their crewmates’ katras, roughly the Vulcan term for the soul, though the Vulcans would probably not want to use that term.
    Keith Phipps, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Jones remained on Ohio's death row for decades, exhausting most of his appeals, until Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Wende Cross overturned his murder conviction, freed him from prison and granted him a new trial two years ago.
    Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Made with prebiotic oat to soothe irritation and support the skin barrier, the gentle cream also has feverfew extract, which is packed with antioxidants that reduce redness and further calm irritation.
    Jenny Berg, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Funding used in high school for more than 29 credit hours will reduce scholarship eligibility after high school by one year, and more than 59 credit hours will reduce eligibility by two years.
    Edward McKinnon, Arkansas Online, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • More on that decision and a list of other schools that have decided to spend cash on volleyball here.
    Payton Titus, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Tony didn’t find out about their daughter until after Ziva’s death, then father and daughter spent several years together before Ziva revealed the truth.
    Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Impoverish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impoverish. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on impoverish

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