the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor.
deficiency of necessary or desirable ingredients, qualities, etc.: poverty of the soil.
scantiness; insufficiency: Their efforts to stamp out disease were hampered by a poverty of medical supplies.
Origin of poverty
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English poverte, from Old French, from Latin paupertāt- (stem of paupertās ) “small means, moderate circumstances.”; see pauper, -ty2
1. Poverty,destitution,need,want imply a state of privation and lack of necessities. Poverty denotes serious lack of the means for proper existence: living in a state of extreme poverty.Destitution, a somewhat more literary word, implies a state of having absolutely none of the necessities of life: widespread destitution in countries at war.Need emphasizes the fact that help or relief is necessary: Most of the people were in great need.Want emphasizes privations, especially lack of food and clothing: Families were suffering from want.
China has made remarkable, remarkable strides in the past 20 years, lifting a half a billion people out of poverty.
Trump’s most popular YouTube ad is a stew of manipulated video|Glenn Kessler, Meg Kelly|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
The crop is so important that government insiders consider its development synonymous with the eradication of poverty in Malaysia.
The Environmental Headache in Your Shampoo - Issue 90: Something Green|Anastasia Bendebury & Michael Shilo DeLay|September 16, 2020|Nautilus
Such a shift in population is likely to increase poverty and widen the gulf between the rich and the poor.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration|by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut|September 15, 2020|ProPublica
Its 2008 adoption of GM cotton for smallholder farmers was hailed as an example of how these technologies could alleviate poverty and food insecurity by protecting crops from pests and increasing yields.
How the “success story” of genetically modified cotton in Burkina Faso fell apart|Brian Dowd-Uribe|September 4, 2020|Quartz
Whether a kid faces poverty or neglect, “the way you start out in life tends to continue,” Gunnar says.
Puberty may reboot the brain and behaviors|Esther Landhuis|August 27, 2020|Science News For Students
It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society|Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The losers have always been children in poverty, children of color, and children with disabilities.
The ‘No Child’ Rewrite Threatens Your Kids’ Future|Jonah Edelman|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Nor do these studies address the structural and systematic issues that contribute to obesity, such as poverty and stress.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I asked for world peace, religious tolerance and an end to poverty.
Santa Fails One More Time|P. J. O’Rourke|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2011, only 27 percent of families living in poverty were receiving welfare assistance.
To GOP Congress, as Usual, It’s Welfare on the Chopping Block|Monica Potts|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Worcester is rich in charitable institutions and revenues for alleviating the distresses of poverty.
Worcestershire in the Nineteenth Century|T. C. Turberville
I felt that desperation and recklessness of poverty which only a pauper knows.
Redburn. His First Voyage|Herman Melville
Yet his poverty was excessive, for the beautiful statue, modeled during successive months with much love, fell to pieces.
Rodin: The Man and his Art|Judith Cladel
And there ought to be plenty in the house—but there's poverty and filth in every corner.
Pelle the Conqueror, Complete|Martin Anderson Nexo
Poverty stood at his hearth,—when Viola's grateful smile and liberal hand came to chase the grim fiend away.
Zanoni|Edward Bulwer Lytton
British Dictionary definitions for poverty
poverty
/ (ˈpɒvətɪ) /
noun
the condition of being without adequate food, money, etc
scarcity or deartha poverty of wit
a lack of elements conducive to fertility in land or soil
Word Origin for poverty
C12: from Old French poverté, from Latin paupertās restricted means, from pauperpoor