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

When Tanton blended ecology with eugenics and immigration, he was digging up the two-century-old principles of Thomas Malthus, who first theorized that human population growth would lead to poverty and suffering.

From Salon

A letter the Sierra Club received from the Southern Poverty Law Center alerted him that they all had ties to Tanton.

From Salon

While the Southern Poverty Law Center publicly branded the takeover attempt as racist, news broke that a wealthy California investor, David Gelbaum, had pledged $100 million on the condition that the club never stand against immigration.

From Salon

They were all part of what the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center described as a marked uptick in white supremacist activity, a small but growing portion of which is environmentally focused.

From Salon

The number of people living below the poverty line in Sri Lanka has risen to 25.9% in the past four years.

From BBC

Related Words

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