poverty
Americannoun
-
the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.
-
deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc..
poverty of the soil.
- Synonyms:
- insufficiency
-
scantiness; insufficiency.
Their efforts to stamp out disease were hampered by a poverty of medical supplies.
- Synonyms:
- dearth, paucity, shortage, inadequacy
- Antonyms:
- sufficiency, surfeit, abundance, glut, excess
noun
-
the condition of being without adequate food, money, etc
-
scarcity or dearth
a poverty of wit
-
a lack of elements conducive to fertility in land or soil
Usage
What are other ways to say poverty? Poverty refers to the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support. How does this noun compare to synonyms destitution and indigence? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
Etymology
Origin of poverty
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English poverte, from Old French, from Latin paupertāt- (stem of paupertās ) “small means, moderate circumstances.”; see pauper, -ty 2
Explanation
Families who live in poverty have a hard time getting enough food to eat. "The loss of jobs in the area led to increased poverty." "The poverty rate is the percent of people who live in poverty in a geographic area." In the US, the government pays careful attention to how many citizens are living above and below the poverty level, which is defined by a certain maximum level of income. Poverty can also mean the lack of an important quality besides having enough money to live comfortably. For the last five years, David's sister has given him a pair of socks for his birthday. David believes this reflects the poverty of her imagination.
Vocabulary lists containing poverty
Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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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.
Black residents here experience poverty at more than four times the rate of the white population – at nearly 57%.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Pastors and faith leaders can preach on any moral or social issue, including justice, poverty, immigration, war.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Nearly half of all households fell into a tier “above the asset poverty line,” meaning they “have escaped acute fragility but do not currently have a foundation for resilience and growth.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
He pointed out that India could learn from China’s “remarkable success” in recent decades at dramatically reducing poverty and becoming “a middle-class nation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
After the Rupture, her people—the Gedes—had been dwindled down by war and poverty, easy to divide and regulate.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
