as in poverty
the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions
each country has its own standard of poorness, and one nation's needy inhabitant can be another's fairly well-off citizen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poorness
Noun
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Why is there the perpetual erosion of our environment, and things like poverty, famine, homelessness and hatred and division?—
Kevin Powell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026 -
Most of the health center's patients live at or below the federal poverty level — currently $33,000 for a family of four.—
Samantha Liss,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But Burke’s key insight was that stripping civilizations of their beauty and sense of reverence would lead to spiritual impoverishment and, eventually, to terror.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
23 Mar. 2026
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Several studies found that the causation element was weak, including one funded by the Department of Health and Human Services that showed that achieving those life milestones, regardless of order, was what was associated with a lower level of impoverishment.—
Marissa Martinez,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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His legal team also filed a separate motion requesting a public defender be assigned to his case, citing indigence.—
Jessica Sager,
People.com,
8 Mar. 2025
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The ceaseless movement of staff around the world compounds this nebulous sensation of perpetual indigence.—
Nick Foulkes,
theweek,
7 Nov. 2024
Noun
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In the summer of 2021 protests began over the shortages and the penuries that people had been feeling.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
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The Legislature, governor and unions need to respect our labor and not tax us into penury.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
28 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Poorness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poorness. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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