- past tense form of impoverish.
- past participle of impoverish.
impoverished
Americanadjective
-
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.
Synonym Usage
See poor.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of impoverished
First recorded in 1625–35; impoverish + -ed 2
Explanation
Impoverished describes being really, really poor, either from having no money or being in bad health. A person who lives on the street is impoverished, and a country may become impoverished after a devastating war. Impoverished comes from the Old French word povre, which means “poor,” and you can almost see the word poverty inside impoverished. Living an impoverished life means that your finances and health are not in good shape, and in fact you could die because you can’t support yourself. A corrupt and greedy government makes its citizens impoverished, and too much pollution will create impoverished soil that isn’t healthy enough to grow delicious vegetables.
Vocabulary lists containing impoverished
Hamilton
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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.
The impoverished Choco region on the Pacific coast also suffered immensely, with some of its remote communities unreachable by authorities to assess the damage.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
UN chief Antonio Guterres will visit gang-ravaged Haiti on Tuesday to show solidarity with victims of violence in the impoverished Caribbean nation long plagued by political, economic and security woes.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
In Barrow-in-Furness, an impoverished shipbuilding town in northwestern England, a multibillion-dollar contract to build nuclear submarines has highlighted inequality and pulled workers from other professions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Fujimori began her election day having breakfast in the Lima suburb of San Juan de Lurigancho, the most populous district in Peru, where impoverished neighbourhoods crowd the steep, dusty mountains.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
It would have been a rare man who would want so frail and impoverished a woman for a wife.
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
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.
