as in poverty
the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions
each country has its own standard of poorness, and one nation's needy inhabitant can be another's fairly well-off citizen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poorness
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 -
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
Noun
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Most overt is the sweeping nationwide crime of rural impoverishment; then there are the endless tiny, daily injustices that result.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
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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
Noun
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His legal team also filed a separate motion requesting a public defender be assigned to his case, citing indigence.—
Jessica Sager,
People.com,
8 Mar. 2025
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The ceaseless movement of staff around the world compounds this nebulous sensation of perpetual indigence.—
Nick Foulkes,
theweek,
7 Nov. 2024
Noun
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In the summer of 2021 protests began over the shortages and the penuries that people had been feeling.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
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The Legislature, governor and unions need to respect our labor and not tax us into penury.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
28 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Poorness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poorness. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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