impoverished
Americanadjective
-
reduced to poverty.
-
(of a country, area, etc.) having few trees, flowers, birds, wild animals, etc.
-
deprived of strength, vitality, creativeness, etc..
an impoverished attempt at humor.
Synonym Usage
See poor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of impoverished
First recorded in 1625–35; impoverish + -ed 2
Explanation
Impoverished describes being really, really poor, either from having no money or being in bad health. A person who lives on the street is impoverished, and a country may become impoverished after a devastating war. Impoverished comes from the Old French word povre, which means “poor,” and you can almost see the word poverty inside impoverished. Living an impoverished life means that your finances and health are not in good shape, and in fact you could die because you can’t support yourself. A corrupt and greedy government makes its citizens impoverished, and too much pollution will create impoverished soil that isn’t healthy enough to grow delicious vegetables.
Vocabulary lists containing impoverished
Hamilton
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fujimori began her election day having breakfast in the Lima suburb of San Juan de Lurigancho, the most populous district in Peru, where impoverished neighbourhoods crowd the steep, dusty mountains.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
I was feeling too impoverished to spring for a $25 ticket for the opening match, which featured reigning World Cup champions Germany against Bolivia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
It has also co-opted the economy, so that Sudan’s many riches bankroll the belligerents even as most Sudanese are impoverished.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026
He says he is “obsessed” with the Tenement Museum on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, which shows visitors what it was like to be an impoverished Jewish immigrant in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Look through it and you could see the billions of impoverished people in the world, and the many linked causes of their misery.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
