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

China has made remarkable, remarkable strides in the past 20 years, lifting a half a billion people out of poverty.

From Washington Post

The crop is so important that government insiders consider its development synonymous with the eradication of poverty in Malaysia.

From Nautilus

Such a shift in population is likely to increase poverty and widen the gulf between the rich and the poor.

From ProPublica

Its 2008 adoption of GM cotton for smallholder farmers was hailed as an example of how these technologies could alleviate poverty and food insecurity by protecting crops from pests and increasing yields.

From Quartz

Whether a kid faces poverty or neglect, “the way you start out in life tends to continue,” Gunnar says.

From Science News For Students

Getting men to do their share of care and domestic work is a key overlooked strategy in reducing poverty.

From The Daily Beast

It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time.

From The Daily Beast

The losers have always been children in poverty, children of color, and children with disabilities.

From The Daily Beast

Nor do these studies address the structural and systematic issues that contribute to obesity, such as poverty and stress.

From The Daily Beast

World peace, religious tolerance, and an end to global poverty, hunger, and disease.

From The Daily Beast

And our views of poverty and social betterment, or what is possible and what is not, are still largely conditioned by it.

From Project Gutenberg

In the old world, poverty seemed, and poverty was, the natural and inevitable lot of the greater portion of mankind.

From Project Gutenberg

He passed the latter part of his life in poverty, and towards the close of it, was confined in a madhouse.

From Project Gutenberg

Seen thus poverty became rather a blessing than a curse, or at least a dispensation prescribing the proper lot of man.

From Project Gutenberg

Even if poverty were gone, the flail could still beat hard enough upon the grain and chaff of humanity.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bankruptcy
• debt
• deficit
• difficulty
• famine
• hardship
• lack
• scarcity
• shortage
• starvation
• underdevelopment

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.