Synonyms of impoverished

impoverished 1 of 2

adjective

im-ˈpä-v(ə-)risht 

1

as in poor

lacking money or material possessions

the widespread hope that the lottery's record-setting jackpot is won by an impoverished family

Synonyms & Similar Words

• poor
• broke
• beggared
• deprived
• bankrupt
• needy
• poverty-stricken
• indigent
• penniless
• destitute
• dirt-poor
• pauperized
• impecunious
• bankrupted
• needful
• depressed
• down-and-out
• penurious
• famished
• beggarly
• necessitous
• disadvantaged
• out of pocket
• threadbare
• out at elbows
• hard up
• skint
• underprivileged
• distressed
• dispossessed
• ruined
• down on one's luck
• insolvent
• unaffluent
• reduced
• hardscrabble
• pinched
• poorish
• short
• cash-strapped
• bust
• straitened
• hand-to-mouth
• possessionless
• low
• tapped out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealthy
• affluent
• rich
• well-to-do
• moneyed
• opulent
• fat
• flush
• well-off
• prosperous
• comfortable
• well-heeled
• fat-cat
• silk-stocking
• deep-pocketed

2

as in desolate

producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation

an impoverished field that over the years had been overgrazed

Synonyms & Similar Words

• desolate
• barren
• poor
• bleak
• waste
• hardscrabble
• unproductive
• infertile
• bony
• unfertile
• stark
• dry
• desert
• inhospitable
• dead
• thirsty
• lifeless
• depleted
• exhausted
• drained
• debilitated
• enfeebled
• diminished
• consumed
• reduced
• uncultivable
• arid
• spent
• untillable
• bankrupted
• dehydrated
• droughty
• lessened
• expended
• waterless
• parched
• sere
• rainless
• sunbaked
• baked
• dried-up
• used up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rich
• productive
• fertile
• fruitful
• lush
• luxuriant
• arable
• green
• tillable
• verdant
• sylvan

impoverished

2 of 2

verb

past tense of impoverish

1

as in pauperized

Related Words

• pauperized
• ruined
• beggared
• reduced
• bankrupted
• busted
• broke
• wiped out
• cleaned (out)
• straitened

Dissimilar Words

• enriched
• richened

2

as in depleted

Related Words

• depleted
• exhausted
• consumed
• spent
• lost
• wasted
• squandered
• dissipated
• splurged
• overspent
• misspent
• lavished
• threw away
• frittered (away)
• ran through
• shot
• overindulged
• indulged
• fiddled away
• disbursed
• blew
• expended
• trifled (away)
• laid out

Dissimilar Words

• protected
• preserved
• saved
• hoarded
• laid up
• conserved
• economized
• scrimped
• skimped

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of impoverished

Adjective

Three gunmen barged into a small house in an impoverished neighborhood in South Africa and opened fire on a group enjoying a party inside, killing at least 11 people including a pregnant woman, police and local authorities said Wednesday. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026

In 1693, Antoine Theroux, an impoverished 18-year-old boatman, was recruited to defend New France, as Canada was then known, against the Indigenous tribes and the British for King Louis XIV. — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Sep. 2026

But perhaps the most impressive thing the seemingly tireless Parton did during her 80 years was donate much of her wealth to impoverished communities. — Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026

Her troubled and impoverished family sends her to another family’s farm so the girl’s overwhelmed mother can give birth to yet another child. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026