penury

[ pen-yuh-ree ]

noun

1. extreme poverty; destitution.

   Synonyms: want, need, indigence

   Antonyms: wealth

2. scarcity; dearth; inadequacy; insufficiency.

penury

/ ˈpɛnjʊrɪ /

noun

1. extreme poverty
2. extreme scarcity

Word History and Origins

Origin of penury¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin pēnūria; akin to Greek peîna hunger, penía poverty

Word History and Origins

Origin of penury¹

C15: from Latin pēnūria dearth, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Or perhaps the plague of Strawberry Quick-flavored meth that was luring children into a life of addiction and penury.

From The Daily Beast

Relative obscurity and penury, her anthem claims, rule just as hard as the point-oh-oh-one percent realm of excess and access.

From The Daily Beast

Larry, it looks like traveling up the royal road you slashed through the forest of penury.

From The Daily Beast

But to herself Jess Morse thought: And it would mean the difference, for mother and me, between penury and independence!

From Project Gutenberg

Notwithstanding her popularity and patronage, she died in France in great obscurity and penury.

From Project Gutenberg

Hunger and penury had carved lines as easy to read in her face as the traces of asceticism and fear.

From Project Gutenberg

Hundreds of families were burned out, and reduced from opulence, or at least competency, to penury.

From Project Gutenberg

The towns of the old world have alternations of penury and affluence.

From Project Gutenberg