Synonyms of poverty

poverty

noun

ˈpä-vər-tē 

1

as in misery

the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions

he dreamed of finding a good job and working his way out of poverty and debt

Synonyms & Similar Words

• misery
• necessity
• destitution
• deprivation
• impoverishment
• penury
• pauperism
• indigence
• beggary
• need
• neediness
• poorness
• bankruptcy
• impecuniosity
• wretchedness
• penuriousness
• impecuniousness
• destituteness
• emergency
• want
• privation
• gutter
• woe
• exigency
• insolvency
• rainy day
• austerity
• pinching
• belt-tightening
• straitening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealth
• affluence
• richness
• opulence
• prosperity
• luxury
• wealthiness

2

as in shortage

a falling short of an essential or desirable amount or number

a poverty of information about the new policies

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shortage
• lack
• deficiency
• deficit
• famine
• scarcity
• drought
• inadequacy
• insufficiency
• absence
• paucity
• dearth
• failure
• inadequateness
• scantiness
• crunch
• lacuna
• undersupply
• pinch
• scarceness
• omission
• privation
• want
• necessity
• meagerness
• poorness
• skimpiness
• need

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealth
• abundance
• opulence
• adequacy
• amplitude
• sufficiency
• plenty
• plenitude
• surplus
• excess
• oversupply
• overabundance
• bountifulness
• surfeit
• copiousness

Synonym Chooser

How is the word poverty distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of poverty are destitution, indigence, penury, and want. While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

Where would indigence be a reasonable alternative to poverty?

Although the words indigence and poverty have much in common, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

the indigence of her years as a graduate student

When would penury be a good substitute for poverty?

The words penury and poverty are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.

a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

How do want and destitution relate to one another, in the sense of poverty?

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

Recent Examples of poverty

Unemployment has dropped to record lows over the past four years in Brazil, and poverty and hunger have receded. — Constance Malleret, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2026

Head Start was established in the 1960s to help fight poverty and has long been considered by early childhood education experts to be a gold standard early learning program. — Kate Sequeira, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

Meanwhile, universities plead poverty while asking legislatures for more funding, students pay higher tuition, and schools claim there isn’t enough money for everything from facilities to faculty salaries. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2026

Created under the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the CEP allows high-poverty schools to provide free meals to every student without requiring individual applications. — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026