View synonyms for poverty

poverty

[ pov-er-tee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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
deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc.:
poverty of the soil.
Synonyms: insufficiency
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

the condition of being without adequate food, money, etc
scarcity or dearth
a poverty of wit
a lack of elements conducive to fertility in land or soil

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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

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Word History and Origins

Origin of poverty¹

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

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