PENURY Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'penury' distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of penury are destitution , indigence , poverty , and want . While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money. // a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

Q: Where would 'indigence' be a reasonable alternative to 'penury'?

The words indigence and penury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances. // the indigence of her years as a graduate student

Q: When could 'poverty' be used to replace 'penury'?

In some situations, the words poverty and penury are roughly equivalent. However, poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts. // the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

Q: How are the words 'want' and 'destitution' related as synonyms of 'penury'?

Both want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure. // lived in a perpetual state of want // the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

penury

noun

ˈpen-yə-rē

Definition of penury next

as in poverty

the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury

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How is the word penury distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of penury are destitution, indigence, poverty, and want. While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.

a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

Where would indigence be a reasonable alternative to penury?

The words indigence and penury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

the indigence of her years as a graduate student

When could poverty be used to replace penury?

In some situations, the words poverty and penury are roughly equivalent. However, poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

How are the words want and destitution related as synonyms of penury?

Both want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure.

lived in a perpetual state of want

the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

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 penury Narrating this account of her brief life, Emily provides a sharp perspective on the penury and isolation that created such anguish — and such inspiration — for the Brontë sisters. —

Alida Becker, New York Times, 30 May 2025 To give up their academic positions was to invite another round of penury, this time as men in their fifties. —

Literary Hub, 28 May 2025 Knowing that Jane Austen never got her own Pemberley, and seeing the penury and leaking roofs portrayed, are very different things. —

Kim Campbell, Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2025 How will the military’s top brass respond to the country’s deepening penury, which risks sparking civil unrest? —

Ivan Briscoe, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2019 See All Example Sentences for penury

Recent Examples of Synonyms for penury

Noun

Nearly a quarter of New Orleans residents live in poverty, and the prospect of a substantial windfall for a few hours’ work apparently outweighed any fear of getting into a car that was about to take part in a high-speed accident.

— Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
Today, about 33% of residents live in poverty.

— Stephanie Armour, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026