poor

[ poor ]

See synonyms for poor on Thesaurus.com

adjective,poor·er, poor·est.

having little or no money, goods, or other means of support: She came from a poor family struggling to survive.
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.
(of land or soil) lacking abundance or productivity: 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)

Usually the poor .Often Disparaging and Offensive. poor people collectively.

Idioms about poor

poor as a church mouse, extremely poor.
poor as Job's turkey, Southern and South Midland U.S. extremely poor.

Origin of poor

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pov(e)re, from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; see pauper

synonym study For poor

1. 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.

pronunciation note For poor

In North and North Midland U.S. English, 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.

Other words for poor

1	needy, indigent, impoverished, destitute, penniless, poverty-stricken, necessitous, straitened
5	meager
6	unsatisfactory, shabby
7	sterile, barren, unfruitful, unproductive
8	thin, skinny, meager, gaunt
14	miserable, unhappy, pitiable

See synonyms for poor on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for poor

1	rich, wealthy
7	fertile

See antonyms for poor on Thesaurus.com

Other words from poor

poor·ness, noun
non·poor, noun
qua·si-poor, adjective
qua·si-poor·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with poor

paw, poor , pore

How to use poor in a sentence

Remember how last year Ryan was reinventing himself as the true friend of “the poors,” as we ironically say in liberal blogland?
Paul Ryan: Still a Total Jerk | Michael Tomasky | April 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Sometimes the poor were boarded out; some of them lived in cottages, or in the poors' house which the parish built.
Social Life in England Through the Centuries | H. R. Wilton Hall
In the end of November, five old people in the poors house were fatally attacked all at once, in different parts of the building.
A History of Epidemics in Britain, Volume II (of 2) | Charles Creighton
The daily papers are in a rack, and over the mantel are bound volumes of the Chronicle, and copies of Poors Manual.
Ainslee's, Vol. 15, No. 6, July 1905 | Various
Aren't you all full of snow, my poors, and very cold and wet?
Hildegarde's Harvest | Laura E. Richards

This asylum contains at this time, 390 boarders and 150 poors at the charge of the departement.
Rouen, It's History and Monuments | Thodore Licquet

British Dictionary definitions for poor

poor

/ (pʊə, pɔː) /

adjective

- lacking financial or other means of subsistence; needy
- (as collective noun; preceded by the): the poor
characterized by or indicating poverty: the country had a poor economy

deficient in amount; scanty or inadequate: a 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 disagreeable: a poor play
(prenominal) deserving of pity; unlucky: poor John is ill again
poor man's something a (cheaper) substitute for something

Origin of poor

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

Derived forms of poor

poorness, noun

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

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