1
as in poor
lacking money or material possessions
the widespread hope that the lottery's record-setting jackpot is won by an impoverished family
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in desolate
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
an impoverished field that over the years had been overgrazed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in pauperized
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in depleted
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of impoverished
Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 6 Jan. 2026
At the time, Presley family was impoverished and unable to afford a coffin.
—Bob Mehr, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 6 Jan. 2026
Wealthy suburbs, with their high real estate taxes, can build and fund billion-dollar schools without having many (if any) impoverished students.
—Michael Maguire, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
Similarly, the video Som da Maloka, 2024, by Raphael Escobar overturns negative stereotypes about the shelterless men of color living in Cracolândia, a highly impoverished and heavily policed area of downtown São Paulo ravaged by crack cocaine and other drugs.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impoverished
Adjective
Released in 1994, Sátántangó (based on László Krasznahorka’s novel) chronicled an impoverished Hungarian village that becomes seduced by a would-be prophet who has seemingly come back from the dead.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for impoverished
Adjective
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Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.—
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In recent games, KU’s communication has been pretty poor on defense and that’s led to players taking (and too often missing) wide-open 3-pointers.—
Adjective
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Sátántangó’s desolate landscapes, dominated by mud, wind, and overcast skies, summoned a vision of earthly purgatory unrivaled in almost all of cinema.—
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Thanksgiving is desolate with freezing rain.—
Verb
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Years of overfishing had depleted their prey, and humans killed them for sustenance or in disputes over fish.—
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Environmental experts and lawmakers say water is becoming a scarce resource as the Texas population grows, depleted by overuse, persistent dry weather, rising temperatures, aging infrastructure and water-reliant technology like data centers.—
Adjective
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All of that stuff is very much in play in what’s recognizably on-brand Steppenwolf acting, typified by go-for-broke intensity, naked in more ways than one, from Coon and Smallwood, especially.—
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Dennis Hamlin took out multiple mortgages, maxed out several credit cards and nearly went broke, the Associated Press reported, all in pursuit of the dream to get his son into NASCAR.—
Adjective
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In the 19th century, guano miners razed the place, removing most of the topsoil and leaving behind barren rock.—
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The next two teams on this list find themselves in eerily similar situations, from barren rosters to enviable cap space to hope at the quarterback position.—
Verb
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McKenzie and Sebastian's decision to embrace the unexpected made their wedding even better when an opposite reaction to the rain could have ruined the whole celebration.—
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But becoming the operator ruined the magic.—
Verb
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Wilson’s departure leaves Mizzou without both of its starting edge rushers from last season, as Zion Young exhausted his eligibility.—
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Back and forth, back and forth, until both are exhausted.—
Adjective
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Her family later learned that on April 23, 2021 — the day Parker found his aunt in a bleak mood — Dee had an angry confrontation over financial issues with two employees of the trucking company.—
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Some of Tarr’s most memorable scenes feature landscapes, often bleak and despairing settings of decaying Hungarian towns, punctuated with close-ups of characters’ faces.—
Cite this Entry
“Impoverished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impoverished. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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