impoverished

[im-pov-er-isht, -pov-risht]

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adjective

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.

Origin of impoverished

First recorded in 1625–35; impoverish + -ed²

Related formsun·im·pov·er·ished, adjective

Synonyms for impoverished

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1. See poor.

impoverish

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

verb (used with object)

to reduce to poverty: a country impoverished by war.
to make poor in quality, productiveness, etc.; exhaust the strength or richness of: Bad farming practices impoverished the soil.

Origin of impoverish

1400–50; late Middle English empoverishen < Middle French empovriss- (long stem of empovrir), equivalent to em- em-¹ + povre poor + -iss -ish²

Related formsim·pov·er·ish·er, nounim·pov·er·ish·ment, noun

Synonyms for impoverish

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2. deplete, drain; weaken, enervate, fatigue, cripple.

Antonyms for impoverish

1, 2. enrich.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for impoverished

strapped, poverty-stricken, needy, distressed, barren, destitute, indigent, bankrupt, drained, spent, ruined, broke, clean, reduced, empty, hurting, beggared, flat, impecunious, insolvent

Examples from the Web for impoverished

Contemporary Examples of impoverished

Locking up the primary breadwinner can push a family from working-class to impoverished.
Why Isn’t Prison Justice on the Ballot This Tuesday?
Inimai Chettiar, Abigail Finkelman
November 1, 2014
Densely populated and impoverished, the community was struggling long before Ebola arrived.
Meet the Liberian Girls Beating Ebola
Abby Haglage
October 29, 2014
My office is located such that I have many patients from both affluent and impoverished communities.
The Doctor’s Note Must Die!
Russell Saunders
September 16, 2014
Impoverished defendants were frequently ordered to pay fines that were triple their monthly income.
Ferguson Feeds Off the Poor: Three Warrants a Year Per Household
Michael Daly
August 22, 2014
Montgomery points to impoverished Bogota, for example, as “a happy city” that shows the way to urban development.
In the Future We'll All Be Renters: America's Disappearing Middle Class
Joel Kotkin
August 10, 2014

Historical Examples of impoverished

The farmers were impoverished, and the poorer people made beggars.
The Scapegoat
Hall Caine
The king was so impoverished that he had not money sufficient to pay the debt.
Henry IV, Makers of History
John S. C. Abbott
What you say about the children shows how impoverished is the blood.
The Man Who Wins
Robert Herrick
It was not he who enticed them; it was not he who impoverished them.
Peak and Prairie
Anna Fuller
A people is impoverished by importations and enriched by exportations.
Sophisms of the Protectionists
Frederic Bastiat

British Dictionary definitions for impoverished

impoverish

verb (tr)

to make poor or diminish the quality ofto impoverish society by cutting the grant to the arts
to deprive (soil, etc) of fertility

Derived Formsimpoverisher, nounimpoverishment, noun

Word Origin for impoverish

C15: from Old French empovrir, from povre poor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for impoverished

impoverish

early 15c., empoverischen, from Old French empoveriss-, stem of empoverir, from em- + povre "poor" (see poor). Related: Impoverished; impoverishing.