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

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 poverty But their existence became nomadic, each move taking them deeper into Brooklyn and poverty. Mark Kriegel june 4, Literary Hub, 4 June 2025 Since its inception in the early 2000s, Project Safe Neighborhoods has been deployed in neighborhoods on the West and South sides of the city historically beset by gangs, poverty and violence. Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2025 It’s been 14 years since the Census Bureau began issuing reports on poverty that factored in the cost of living. U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2025 Those who qualify have income at or below four times the federal poverty level of $32,150 for a family of four or have medical debt that is 5% or more of their income. Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for poverty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poverty
Noun
  • In a season full of misery and a historic number of losses, there was plenty of reason to celebrate Colorado’s first walk-off win.
    Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 12 June 2025
  • Greta’s missed opportunity to understand the deep roots of this misery is another lesson lost to the world.
    Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald, 11 June 2025
Noun
  • Japan began experiencing a matcha shortage in late 2024, as global interest in the powdered green tea spiked, according to the Global Japanese Tea Association.
    Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 13 June 2025
  • The pilot in Hawaii began with engineering majors because the state is heavily dependent on engineers in its key defense, construction and tourism industries — but has a chronic shortage of them.
    Jon Marcus, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2025
Noun
  • Signings of this kind were a regular feature of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, at a time when punishing interest payments relating to the Emirates Stadium’s construction made that kind of value-chasing purchase a necessity.
    James McNicholas, New York Times, 6 June 2025
  • To treat thinking not as indulgence but as necessity.
    Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
Noun
  • Most troubling is a lack of true concern or remedies for a huge problem for America, our national debt, and the service on that $36 trillion debt, which amounts to almost a trillion dollars a year.
    Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 6 June 2025
  • Brandon Bell/Getty Images What To Know A chronic lack of inventory, partially due to the fact that homebuilders in the U.S. significantly underbuilt in the years following the 2008 crash, contributed to bringing U.S. home prices through the roof in recent years.
    Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • That means at least one in five people or households severely lack food and face starvation and destitution.
    Edith M. Lederer, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
  • The latest estimates, as of August 2021, put the value of Russia’s National Wealth Fund at about $185 billion and its foreign currency reserves at $615 billion—hardly a picture of destitution.
    Michael Kofman, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021
Noun
  • Risk of nutrient deficiencies: Using powders instead of whole foods may result in nutrient deficiencies.
    Christopher Bergland, Verywell Health, 12 June 2025
  • How pellagra ravaged northern Italy Pellagra is a severe systemic disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin B3, or niacin.
    Asia London Palomba, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2025
Noun
  • Early studies indicate that creatine supplements could enhance cognitive function in older adults and people with dementia or sleep deprivation.
    Staff Author Published, Verywell Health, 11 June 2025
  • There’s nothing but chaos and deprivation in the streets of America.
    Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 10 June 2025
Noun
  • The tiff between Musk and Republicans continued as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the House bill would add roughly $2.4 million to the deficit over the next decade.
    Riley Beggin, USA Today, 5 June 2025
  • Musk’s concerns are not the bill’s slashing of important programs, but its bloat, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would add a staggering $2.4 trillion to the deficit.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 5 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Poverty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poverty. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.

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