poverty

[pov-er-tee]

noun

1. the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.

   Synonyms: penury, pauperism, indigence, destitution, neediness, privation
   Antonyms: affluence, wealth, riches

2. deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc..

   poverty of the soil.

   Synonyms: insufficiency

3. 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

poverty

/ ˈpɒvətɪ /

noun

1. the condition of being without adequate food, money, etc

2. scarcity or dearth

   a poverty of wit

3. a lack of elements conducive to fertility in land or soil

Word History and Origins

Origin of poverty¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English poverte, from Old French, from Latin paupertāt- (stem of paupertās ) “small means, moderate circumstances.”; pauper, -ty ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of poverty¹

C12: from Old French poverté, from Latin paupertās restricted means, from pauper _poor

Example Sentences

But many Ivorians still live in poverty and dream of migrating.

Read more on Barron's

The 16,000-person town in northeastern Oklahoma has a poverty rate of 20.3%—about 8 percentage points higher than the national average.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Philippines is hit by around 20 storms and typhoons each year, routinely striking areas where millions of people live in poverty.

Read more on Barron's

Reeves has been encouraged by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to increase taxes on the gambling sector and use the revenue from that to reduce child poverty.

Read more on BBC

The committee heard from experts on this trend, with child poverty campaigner Katherine Hill urging London's mayor to make the capital a "child-friendly city".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bankruptcy 
• debt 
• deficit 
• difficulty 
• famine 
• hardship 
• lack 
• scarcity 
• shortage 
• starvation 
• underdevelopment www.thesaurus.com

When To Use

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.