poverty

[pov-er-tee]

noun

1. the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.

   Synonyms: penury, pauperism, indigence, destitution, neediness, privation
   Antonyms: affluence, wealth, riches

2. deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc..

   poverty of the soil.

   Synonyms: insufficiency

3. 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

poverty

/ ˈpɒvətɪ /

noun

1. the condition of being without adequate food, money, etc

2. scarcity or dearth

   a poverty of wit

3. a lack of elements conducive to fertility in land or soil

Word History and Origins

Origin of poverty¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English poverte, from Old French, from Latin paupertāt- (stem of paupertās ) “small means, moderate circumstances.”; pauper, -ty ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of poverty¹

C12: from Old French poverté, from Latin paupertās restricted means, from pauper _poor

Example Sentences

His aim, he told Salon, is to combat poverty across the United States.

Read more on Salon

"We have one of the worst systems in terms of making housing available to the poorest. We are looking at homelessness being related to health factors - trauma, depression, anxiety. And we've increasing levels of poverty."

Read more on BBC

Despite its natural resources, Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 75% of people living below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

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Weaving is also a vital source of income in La Guajira, Colombia's second-poorest province, where two-thirds of the population live in poverty.

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The Labour government has been under pressure to remove the cap, with many of its backbenchers arguing the limit has increased the number of children in poverty.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bankruptcy 
• debt 
• deficit 
• difficulty 
• famine 
• hardship 
• lack 
• scarcity 
• shortage 
• starvation 
• underdevelopment www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

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.