as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
poverty-stricken immigrants struggling to make ends meet
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Recent Examples of poverty-stricken
The family was poverty-stricken, living in a small apartment.
—
Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 May 2026
During and after the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority built dozens of hydroelectric dams, bringing electricity and flood control to the most remote and poverty-stricken hollows of Appalachia.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2025
That’s a long way from living in motels and stealing steaks from grocery stores during his more humble days of being poverty-stricken.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2025
At the time, Whitechapel was poverty-stricken and overcrowded, with over 76,000 people populating its dilapidated avenues and dwellings.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2024
Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 May 2026
During and after the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority built dozens of hydroelectric dams, bringing electricity and flood control to the most remote and poverty-stricken hollows of Appalachia.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 29 June 2025
That’s a long way from living in motels and stealing steaks from grocery stores during his more humble days of being poverty-stricken.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2025
At the time, Whitechapel was poverty-stricken and overcrowded, with over 76,000 people populating its dilapidated avenues and dwellings.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 18 Jan. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poverty-stricken
Adjective
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Among the Cambodians to exploit the instability was Toek Tik, a once-impoverished former Khmer Rouge foot soldier whose confessions helped investigators substantiate some of their claims against Latchford.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
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And the people who got trapped behind—and who are now the impoverished mass of the remaining Cuban population—are the descendants of the slave population, or those who intermarried with the slave population.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
17 June 2026
Adjective
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These conditions can increase your vulnerability to adverse effects from poor air quality.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Oc Register,
16 June 2026
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Equating the Holocaust to Gaza is in extremely poor taste.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poverty-stricken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poverty-stricken. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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