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

Two months ago, the window opened wide for states to apply for rural areas to be designated as an Opportunity Zone – that is, if the area has a poverty rate of at least 20%, among other requirements. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Sep. 2026

Party leaders laid out proposals for relieving poverty, improving social security, and reforming the education system and admitted members from backgrounds unusual for the CHP, including a Kurdish activist and a union leader. — Nick Taborall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026

As part of its inaugural State of Style report, the poverty-fighting charity said billions of liters of water are being used to make clothes that sit unworn in Britain’s wardrobes. — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 2 Sep. 2026

Their nonprofit aims to donate and plant 5,000 fig trees, addressing hunger in a county where David Burke says one in five families lives below the federal poverty level. — Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2026