immiseration

noun

im·​mis·​er·​a·​tion (ˌ)i(m)-ˌmi-zə-ˈrā-shən 

: the act of making miserable

especially : impoverishment

the immiseration of the working class

—C. R. Morris

immiserate

(ˌ)i(m)-ˈmi-zə-ˌrāt 

transitive verb

immiserated; immiserating; immiserates

What Keynes would have found most disheartening, perhaps, is how economic theory has been used to immiserate the lives of the bottom half of the population.

—Charles R. Morris

Examples of immiseration in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Robeson’s pursuit of racial equality, for everybody, won him persecution and immiseration and derailed his career. —Wesley Morris, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2023

But then there’s a whole mess of affordability and displacement and financial immiseration that can really only be solved by tackling the problem of housing. —The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 12 Apr. 2023

Such proximity to immiseration likely contributes to the sense of desperation on display at these gatherings. —Adam Fleming Petty, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2023

El Moussa and Haack are flippers in Southern California who are alternately presented as hapless and cunning in their efforts to turn a quick profit while navigating the same landscape of immiseration. —Curbed, 18 Mar. 2022

Word History

Etymology

in- entry 2 + miserable + -ation

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above