as in poverty
the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions
the gradual loss of manufacturing jobs plunged the area into a level of impoverishment it had never known
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Recent Examples of impoverishment
Most overt is the sweeping nationwide crime of rural impoverishment; then there are the endless tiny, daily injustices that result.
—
Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Separately, Biden thrice designated Haiti for Temporary Protected Status in the aftermath of the murder of President Jovenel Moise, a devastating earthquake, mass internal displacement, widespread gang violence, chronic hunger and extreme impoverishment.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Though very little information from the isolated nation reaches the outside world now, reports indicate severe impoverishment and malnourishment throughout much of the country.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2025
Into this realm steps the ‘stablecoin’, an asset that is growing speedily and that is forecast to become the solution to many problems – the US national debt, a sluggish and conservative banking system and the impoverishment of emerging economies.
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
In practice, the administration is pursuing a strategy of strife and impoverishment, not prosperity.
—Melvyn P. Leffler, Foreign Affairs, 21 Dec. 2017
Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Separately, Biden thrice designated Haiti for Temporary Protected Status in the aftermath of the murder of President Jovenel Moise, a devastating earthquake, mass internal displacement, widespread gang violence, chronic hunger and extreme impoverishment.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Though very little information from the isolated nation reaches the outside world now, reports indicate severe impoverishment and malnourishment throughout much of the country.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2025
Into this realm steps the ‘stablecoin’, an asset that is growing speedily and that is forecast to become the solution to many problems – the US national debt, a sluggish and conservative banking system and the impoverishment of emerging economies.
—Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
In practice, the administration is pursuing a strategy of strife and impoverishment, not prosperity.
—Melvyn P. Leffler, Foreign Affairs, 21 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impoverishment
poverty
Noun
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By one estimate, 75 of the world’s poorest countries must come up with $22 billion in loan repayments this year, making China more of a debt collector than a development banker and risks driving these countries even deeper into poverty.—
Christopher Smart,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
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But some funders care deeply about energy poverty in the Global South and see nuclear as a solution.—
Anna Broughel,
Forbes.com,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impoverishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impoverishment. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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