poverty-stricken

[pov-er-tee-strik-uhn]

adjective

1. suffering from poverty; extremely poor.

   poverty-stricken refugees.

poverty-stricken

adjective

1. suffering from extreme poverty

Word History and Origins

Origin of poverty-stricken¹

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

The Uzbek despot distinguished himself by “boiling his enemies, slaughtering his poverty-stricken people when they protest, and conscripting armies of children for slave labour,” according to The Guardian.

Read more on Salon

Through his Pearl Fund, he is making a difference in the lives of orphaned, fatherless and poverty-stricken young people.

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This explosive, eye-opening work came from Ivy League professor Desmond moving to a trailer park and rooming house in a poverty-stricken part of Milwaukee.

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Elsewhere, Israel offered aid packages — a boon for the poverty-stricken population but one that many rejected.

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In the latest violent incident, five men were shot dead in a shop in the poverty-stricken Laventille area on Sunday.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• destitute 
• distressed 
• impoverished 
• indigent 
• needy 
• poor 
• strapped