1
as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
every year, we make up a basket of food at Thanksgiving for a poor family in the neighborhood
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in desolate
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
land that is too poor for farming
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in scarce
less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable
a poor crop because of the drought this year
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
a pretty poor musician, even for a garage band
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in terrible
of low quality
the poor workmanship of the goods from that store
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in pitiful
deserving of one's pity
aw, the poor kitten hurt its paw
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Try This Instead
Try This InsteadFor
Try This
poor quality
a poor judgment
an unwise judgment
a lousy judgment
a questionable judgment
a horrible judgment
an improper judgment
a poor performance
a weak performance
an unacceptable performance
a negative performance
an inadequate performance
a horrendous performance
a poor condition
a deteriorated condition
a shabby condition
a sub-par condition
a shoddy condition
a pitiful condition
poor nutrition
unbalanced nutrition
improper nutrition
deficient nutrition
unhealthy nutrition
insufficient nutrition
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poor
And if that weren’t enough, chronic stress is a leading cause of heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses, which are estimated to cost US companies $300 billion annually in health costs, absenteeism, and poor performance.
—
Shani Harmon, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
The Bulls also are looking to recoup assets rather than send them out, which puts them in a poor position to negotiate a trade with the Heat front office.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2025
Living in near-poverty in a series of poor apartments, or out of a ramshackle touring van for weeks on end?
—Cat Woods, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025
The district court did note, however, that the elephants likely were exposed to poor conditions and inadequately sized enclosures, but said the Nonhuman Rights Project simply has no standing under the law cited in its lawsuit.
—Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for poor 
Shani Harmon, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
The Bulls also are looking to recoup assets rather than send them out, which puts them in a poor position to negotiate a trade with the Heat front office.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2025
Living in near-poverty in a series of poor apartments, or out of a ramshackle touring van for weeks on end?
—Cat Woods, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025
The district court did note, however, that the elephants likely were exposed to poor conditions and inadequately sized enclosures, but said the Nonhuman Rights Project simply has no standing under the law cited in its lawsuit.
—Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for poor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poor
Adjective
-
Guatemala, a small, impoverished nation scarred by a brutal civil war, has a substantial undocumented population in the United States.—
Daniele Volpe,
New York Times,
21 Jan. 2025
-
The workshop's initial mission was to provide a trade for widows and other impoverished Palestinian women.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
For the scenes that take place in the Human World, the crew is going to shoot in a desolate part of Iceland.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
-
What's more, the plane was completely encircled by massive screens that projected high-resolution videos of desolate Alaskan wilderness.—
Marco della Cava,
USA TODAY,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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According to Polanski, although food was scarce, by some miracle Ryszard’s mother, Regina, managed to procure hot chocolate for the kids.—
Danuta Hamlin,
Fox News,
25 Jan. 2025
-
Heavy snowfall blanketed the area for the next three days, temperatures hovered at well below freezing, and daylight was scarce.—
Francine Uenuma,
Smithsonian Magazine,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In this team, calling in sick for shady reasons is unacceptable.—
Lieke ten Brummelhuis,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
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Greenwashing and intentional misinformation are unacceptable, but silence from the best actors is an even bigger risk.—
Jesper Brodin,
TIME,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
While this is terrible for the environment, customer satisfaction, and retailers’ bottom lines, the truth is the industry has created a monster and easy and free returns have become the basic consumer expectation.—
Steve Dennis,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
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Gerulaitis’s gallows humour deflects from the fact that his terrible records against Connors and Borg took a big toll on his confidence.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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This isn’t to say Orlok isn’t evil, but that his evilness does not exclude him from being pitiful.—
Alex Abad-Santos,
Vox,
10 Jan. 2025
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Perhaps this weekend can be a get-right game against the pitiful New York Jets, but there’s not much to be excited about.—
Fox News Staff,
Fox News,
13 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Seeger invites the broke musician to stay on his couch and into the heart of his family and takes him under his wing.—
Lee Sharrock,
Forbes,
19 Jan. 2025
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About half of participants lost money, and 1 in 6 went broke.—
Ryan Ermey,
CNBC,
13 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The Anatolian mountains, where Ali tends to a barren garden, provide a sinister backdrop from which anything, not just a vagabond dropped as if from the sky, can suddenly appear.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
25 Jan. 2025
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The streets are barren, save for occasional officials’ vehicles.—
Katie Kilkenny,
The Hollywood Reporter,
22 Jan. 2025
Articles Related to poor
Thesaurus Entries Near poor
Cite this Entry
“Poor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poor. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
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