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poverty

[pov-er-tee] / ˈpɒv ər ti /
NOUN
want; extreme need, often financial
Synonyms
STRONGEST
bankruptcy debt deficit difficulty famine hardship lack scarcity shortage starvation underdevelopment
STRONG
abjection aridity barrenness beggary dearth deficiency depletion destitution distress emptiness exiguity impecuniousness impoverishment inadequacy indigence insolvency insufficiency meagerness necessity pass paucity pauperism pennilessness penury pinch poorness privation reduction straits vacancy
WEAK
necessitousness
Antonyms
STRONGEST
abundance ease enough excess plenty profit surplus
STRONG
adequacy advantage affluence fill sufficiency wealth
WEAK
luxury richness

Usage

What are other ways to say poverty? Poverty denotes serious lack of the means for proper existence: living in a state of extreme poverty. Destitution, a somewhat more literary word, implies a state of having absolutely none of the necessities of life: widespread destitution in countries at war. Indigence denotes a severely impoverished condition marked by hardship and the lack of any of life’s comforts: reduced to a life of indigence.

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.

About eight million Venezuelans have fled the grinding poverty and political suppression of their homeland.

From Barron's

Today, Albany has one of the highest poverty rates in the state.

From Salon

School meal price increases will "acutely" affect children living in poverty who do not qualify for free school dinners, Northern Ireland's Commissioner for Children and Young People has said.

From BBC

The future of Tesla is an army of humanoid robots that Elon Musk says could eliminate poverty and the need for work.

From The Wall Street Journal

He has highlighted some progress in reducing both NHS waiting times and child poverty since taking over as first minister.

From BBC

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.