PENURY Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'penury' distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of penury are destitution , indigence , poverty , and want . While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money. // a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

Q: Where would 'indigence' be a reasonable alternative to 'penury'?

The words indigence and penury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances. // the indigence of her years as a graduate student

Q: When could 'poverty' be used to replace 'penury'?

In some situations, the words poverty and penury are roughly equivalent. However, poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts. // the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

Q: How are the words 'want' and 'destitution' related as synonyms of 'penury'?

Both want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure. // lived in a perpetual state of want // the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

penury

noun

ˈpen-yə-rē

Definition of penury next

as in poverty

the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word penury distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of penury are destitution, indigence, poverty, and want. While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.

a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

Where would indigence be a reasonable alternative to penury?

The words indigence and penury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

the indigence of her years as a graduate student

When could poverty be used to replace penury?

In some situations, the words poverty and penury are roughly equivalent. However, poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

How are the words want and destitution related as synonyms of penury?

Both want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure.

lived in a perpetual state of want

the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of penury The role filled him with pride—his great fear wasn’t penury or dispossession but to be thought of as not useful. —

Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 Cillian Murphy is not sitting at home in monkish penury. —

Vulture, 3 Feb. 2024 As a result, Pinchas never passed the Russian examination, condemning his wife and children to a life of penury. —

Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 27 Nov. 2023 Its economy has collapsed completely, plunging a once relatively prosperous society into penury, with over 80 percent of Lebanese now living in poverty. —

Hussein Ibish, The New Republic, 24 Oct. 2023 See all Example Sentences for penury