poor

[ poor ]

/ pʊər /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR poor ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, poor·er, poor·est.

having little or no money, goods, or other means of support: a poor family living on welfare.

Law. dependent upon charity or public support.

(of a country, institution, etc.) meagerly supplied or endowed with resources or funds.

characterized by or showing poverty.

deficient or lacking in something specified: a region poor in mineral deposits.

faulty or inferior, as in construction: poor workmanship.

deficient in desirable ingredients, qualities, or the like: poor soil.

excessively lean or emaciated, as cattle.

of an inferior, inadequate, or unsatisfactory kind: poor health.

lacking in skill, ability, or training: a poor cook.

deficient in moral excellence; cowardly, abject, or mean.

scanty, meager, or paltry in amount or number: a poor audience.

humble; modest: They shared their poor meal with a stranger.

unfortunate; hapless: The poor dog was limping.

noun

(used with a plural verb) poor persons collectively (usually preceded by the): sympathy for the poor.

Nearby words

poop sheet, poop staff, pooped, pooper-scooper, poopó, poor, poor as a churchmouse, poor box, poor boy, poor boy sweater, poor farm

Idioms

poor as a church mouse, extremely poor.

poor as Job's turkey, extremely poor; impoverished.

Origin of poor

1150–1200; Middle English pov(e)re < Old French povre < Latin pauper. See pauper

SYNONYMS FOR poor

1 needy, indigent, necessitous, straitened, destitute, penniless, poverty-stricken. Poor, impecunious, impoverished, penniless refer to those lacking money. Poor is the simple term for the condition of lacking means to obtain the comforts of life: a very poor family. Impecunious often suggests that the poverty is a consequence of unwise habits: an impecunious actor. Impoverished often implies a former state of greater plenty, from which one has been reduced: the impoverished aristocracy. Penniless may mean destitute, or it may apply simply to a temporary condition of being without funds: The widow was left penniless with three small children.

5 meager.

6 unsatisfactory, shabby.

7 sterile, barren, unfruitful, unproductive.

8 thin, skinny, meager, gaunt.

14 miserable, unhappy, pitiable.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR poor ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR poor

1, 5, 7 rich.

1, 3, 4 wealthy.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR poor ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

poor·ness, nounnon·poor, nounqua·si-poor, adjectivequa·si-poor·ly, adverb

Can be confused

paw poor pore

Pronunciation note

In the North and North Midland U.S., the vowel of poor is most often

[oo] /ʊ/. Poor and sure thus contrast with pour and shore:

[poor] /pʊər/,

[shoor] /ʃʊər/ versus

[pawr] /pɔr/,

[shawr] /ʃɔr/ or

[pohr] /poʊr/,

[shohr] /ʃoʊr/. In the South Midland and South, the vowel of poor is generally

[aw] /ɔ/ or

[oh] /oʊ/ (often with the final (r) dropped), which means that in these areas, poor and pour are homophones, as are sure and shore. Both types of pronunciation exist in the British Isles.

Examples from the Web for poorness

She welcomed the captain to her quarters with profuse apologies for the poorness of the fare and the meagreness of the room.
The Idol of The Blind|Tom Gallon
It was just like my poorness to think I could ever marry any one so clever and spry as yourself.
The Making of a Prig|Evelyn Sharp
Not to be shamed among other girls by the poorness of her apparel was a pride to her.
Ayala's Angel|Anthony Trollope
Most of them are out and out humbugs, and make up for their richness in drugs by their poorness in good, pure fat and alkali.
A Handbook of Health|Woods Hutchinson

What architect now thinks of correcting the poorness of hard, straight lines by very slightly curving them?
The Practice and Science Of Drawing|Harold Speed

British Dictionary definitions for poorness

poor

/ (pʊə, pɔː) /

adjective

lacking financial or other means of subsistence; needy
(as collective noun; preceded by the)the poor

characterized by or indicating povertythe country had a poor economy

deficient in amount; scanty or inadequatea poor salary

(when postpositive, usually foll by in) badly supplied (with resources, materials, etc)a region poor in wild flowers

lacking in quality; inferior

giving no pleasure; disappointing or disagreeablea poor play

(prenominal) deserving of pity; unluckypoor John is ill again

poor man's something a (cheaper) substitute for something

Derived Forms

poorness, noun

Word Origin for poor

C13: from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; see pauper, poverty

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