poverty-stricken
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of poverty-stricken
First recorded in 1795–1805
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 recording has spread widely on social media and caused a strong reaction in oil-rich but poverty-stricken Equatorial Guinea, ruled by Obiang for over 40 years.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
In 1984, when I dated Cathy No. 2, like the Rebeccas, most of the lesbians I knew were young, poverty-stricken and uncomfortably enmeshed with their lovers, and they considered “lesbian” to be their primary identity.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2025
In the production, Fairman’s story depicts her compassion, a quality which took root in the poverty-stricken city where she grew up and continues to this day through her volunteer work in Los Angeles.
From Seattle Times • May 25, 2024
I think if you take a camera into any rural area or area that's poverty-stricken, it's not gonna look pretty, but somehow we were special.
From Salon • May 19, 2024
Until 1996, there was a basic understanding that poverty-stricken mothers raising children should be afforded some minimal level of assistance with food and shelter.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
