impoverish

[im-pov-er-ish, -pov-rish]

verb (used with object)

1. to reduce to poverty.

   a country impoverished by war.

   Antonyms: enrich

2. to make poor in quality, productiveness, etc.; exhaust the strength or richness of.

   Bad farming practices impoverished the soil.

   Synonyms: cripple, fatigue, enervate, weaken, drain, deplete
   Antonyms: enrich

impoverish

/ ɪmˈpɒvərɪʃ /

verb

1. to make poor or diminish the quality of

   to impoverish society by cutting the grant to the arts

2. to deprive (soil, etc) of fertility

Other Word Forms

• impoverisher noun
• impoverishment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of impoverish¹

1400–50; late Middle English empoverishen < Middle French empovriss- (long stem of empovrir ), equivalent to em- em- ¹ + povre poor + -iss -ish ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of impoverish¹

C15: from Old French empovrir, from povre _poor

Example Sentences

Advocates say the state-funded project will provide an economic boost for the impoverished south of Italy.

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He inherited the job of impoverishing his resource-rich country on the death of Hugo Chávez—who had himself been beggaring Venezuela since 1999.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Three people in Haiti have already been killed this week as storm bands from Melissa lashed the impoverished nation with heavy downpours, provoking landslides.

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He shocked many French in 2005 when he vowed to use a high-pressure Kärcher hose to “clean up” the country’s impoverished suburbs.

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The 51-year-old, who came to power after a military-backed coup in 2009, said he was "on a mission to find solutions" to the political crisis and would not let the impoverished nation "destroy itself".

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Related Words

• bankrupt 
• deplete 
• exhaust 
• ruin