poverty
Americannoun
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the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.
-
deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc..
poverty of the soil.
- Synonyms:
- insufficiency
-
scantiness; insufficiency.
Their efforts to stamp out disease were hampered by a poverty of medical supplies.
- Synonyms:
- dearth, paucity, shortage, inadequacy
- Antonyms:
- sufficiency, surfeit, abundance, glut, excess
noun
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the condition of being without adequate food, money, etc
-
scarcity or dearth
a poverty of wit
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a lack of elements conducive to fertility in land or soil
Usage
What are other ways to say poverty? Poverty refers to the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support. How does this noun compare to synonyms destitution and indigence? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
Etymology
Origin of poverty
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English poverte, from Old French, from Latin paupertāt- (stem of paupertās ) “small means, moderate circumstances.”; pauper, -ty 2
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.
By mercilessly hardening her heart, Judit hopes to withstand the tribulations of poverty and betrayal.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Pakistan is classified as a lower-middle-income country, with roughly 25 percent of its 240 million population living in poverty, as per World Bank data.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
There’s also a risk of a higher rate of elder poverty if people are unable to save what’s required, he said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
It focuses on three areas – tackling poverty, making work pay and maximising the benefit's potential.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
I found the new race and poverty work extremely energizing.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
