poverty

poverty — noun

1. a situation in which a person, family, or community has so little money that bas

1.nounB2
Definition

a situation in which a person, family, or community has so little money that basic needs are hard to meet

Example

After the factory closed, many families in the town fell into poverty.

fall into poverty

A free breakfast program helps children in poverty start school ready to learn.

Common collocations
  • extreme poverty
  • child poverty
  • rural poverty
  • escape poverty
Synonyms
  • hardship

    broader and can include suffering caused by illness, war, or other problems, not only money

  • deprivation

    more formal and stresses going without basic things such as food, heat, or safety

  • destitution

    stronger and more formal, suggesting almost nothing is left to live on

Antonyms
  • wealth

    focuses on having a large amount of money or valuable property

  • prosperity

    stresses a successful and comfortable economic condition

Grammar Patterns

live in poverty

fall into poverty

escape from poverty

poverty among + group

Usage Note

Often used in social and economic discussion, especially after verbs like live in, fall into, and escape from. It usually points to a continuing lack of money, not just one expensive week or one unpaid bill.

Common Mistakes

Many families live in poor.
Many families live in poverty.
use the noun 'poverty' after 'live in'; 'poor' is an adjective.

2. a serious shortage of something, or a level of quality that feels weak and not g

2.nounC1
Definition

a serious shortage of something, or a level of quality that feels weak and not good enough

Example

The bridge plan failed at town hall because of a poverty of detail.

poverty of + noun

Critics noted the film's poverty of imagination in its second half.

poverty of imagination

Common collocations
  • poverty of detail
  • poverty of imagination
  • poverty of evidence
  • poverty of content
Synonyms
  • scarcity

    stresses that not enough of something is available

  • shortage

    a more everyday word for not having enough of a needed thing

  • weakness

    fits the poor-quality side of this sense more than the idea of low supply

Antonyms
  • abundance

    shows that there is more than enough of something

  • richness

    works especially for content, ideas, style, or detail with depth and variety

Grammar Patterns

poverty of + noun

because of a poverty of + noun

Usage Note

Most often appears in the pattern 'poverty of + noun', especially with words like detail, imagination, evidence, or choice. Distinguish from sense 1 BEING VERY POOR, which is about money and living conditions.

Common Mistakes

The speech showed a poverty on ideas.
The speech showed a poverty of ideas.
this sense usually takes 'of', not 'on'.

Word family

  • poor
    adjectiveB1
  • impoverished
    adjectiveC1
  • impoverish
    verbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun sense 1, poverty is the broad and fairly neutral word for living with far too little money over time. Hardship is wider: people can face hardship because of debt, illness, war, or crop failure, even when the problem is not only money. Deprivation is more formal and stresses going without basic things such as food, heat, or safe housing. Destitution is stronger than poverty and suggests that almost nothing is left. Misery is more emotional and can describe suffering in general, not just low income. A town may struggle with poverty, a family may face hardship after a flood, and one person may be left destitute after losing both work and housing.

hardship ↗deprivationdestitutionmisery ↗

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Poverty came into English from Old French poverté, which came from Latin paupertas, built on pauper, meaning 'poor'. The word kept the idea of not having enough for life, and English later extended it to abstract shortages such as a poverty of ideas.