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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The United Nations Development Programme reports that higher energy prices, disrupted food systems, and economic slowdowns triggered by the war could push up to thirty-two million people globally into poverty.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026 -
The art world has been in a recession for 15 years, galleries are closing, young collectors are holding back, and artists trying to make it in the major market centers are living on the brink of poverty.—
Magnus Resch,
ARTnews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But Burke’s key insight was that stripping civilizations of their beauty and sense of reverence would lead to spiritual impoverishment and, eventually, to terror.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2026
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Several studies found that the causation element was weak, including one funded by the Department of Health and Human Services that showed that achieving those life milestones, regardless of order, was what was associated with a lower level of impoverishment.—
Marissa Martinez,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
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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Such claims of penury, however, were difficult to square with certain facts.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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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 29 Apr. 2026.
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