poverty

poverty
pov|er|ty
W3 [ˈpɔvəti US ˈpa:vərti] n
[Date: 1100-1200; : Old French; Origin: poverté, from Latin paupertas, from pauper; POOR]
1.) [U]
the situation or experience of being poor
→↑poor, impoverished ↑impoverished
Millions of elderly people live in poverty .
We need an effective strategy to fight poverty .
continued efforts to alleviate poverty and raise living standards
scenes of abject poverty
the causes of urban poverty
2.) the poverty line also the poverty level AmE
the income below which a person or a family is officially considered to be very poor and in need of help
20% of the population now live below the poverty line .
3.) the poverty trap
a situation in which a poor person without a job cannot afford to take a low paying job because they would lose the money they receive from the government
4.) [singular,U] formal
a lack of a particular quality
poverty of
The novel shows a surprising poverty of imagination.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
COLLOCATES for sense 1
live/grow up/die in poverty
fight/combat poverty (=try to end poverty)
alleviate/relieve poverty (=improve poverty)
extreme/severe poverty
abject/grinding/dire poverty (=extreme poverty)
urban/rural poverty (=poverty of people in cities or the countryside)
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Poverty — • Discusses poverty as a concept and canonical discipline Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Poverty     Poverty     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Poverty — Pov er*ty (p[o^]v [ e]r*t[y^]), n. [OE. poverte, OF. povert[ e], F. pauvret[ e], fr. L. paupertas, fr. pauper poor. See {Poor}.] 1. The quality or state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence; indigence; need. Swathed …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • poverty — pov‧er‧ty [ˈpɒvəti ǁ ˈpɑːvərti] noun [uncountable] 1. the situation or experience of being poor: • 86% of the population lives in poverty. • a major anti poverty initiative 2. the poverty line the income below which people are officially… …   Financial and business terms

  • poverty — poverty, indigence, penury, want, destitution, privation all denote the state of one who is poor or without enough to live upon. Poverty, the most comprehensive of these terms, typically implies such deficiency of resources that one is deprived… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • poverty — [päv′ər tē] n. [ME poverte < OFr povreté < L paupertas < pauper, POOR] 1. the condition or quality of being poor; indigence; need 2. deficiency in necessary properties or desirable qualities, or in a specific quality, etc.; inadequacy… …   English World dictionary

  • poverty — late 12c., from O.Fr. poverte, from L. paupertatem (nom. paupertas) poverty, from pauper (see POOR (Cf. poor)). Seeing so much poverty everywhere makes me think that God is not rich. He gives the appearance of it, but I suspect some financial… …   Etymology dictionary

  • poverty — poverty, poorness Poverty is the usual noun corresponding to poor in its meanings to do with lack of wealth or lack of things regarded like wealth (e.g. poverty of inspiration). Poorness is not often used and is more usual in meanings to do with… …   Modern English usage

  • poverty — I noun absence, bare subsistence, beggarliness, beggary, dearth, deficiency, deficit, depletion, destitution, difficulty, distress, embarrassed circumstances, exigency, famine, humbleness, impecuniosity, impecuniousness, impoverishment, indigence …   Law dictionary

  • poverty — [n] want; extreme need, often financial abjection, aridity, bankruptcy, barrenness, beggary, dearth, debt, deficiency, deficit, depletion, destitution, difficulty, distress, emptiness, exiguity, famine, hardship, impecuniousness, impoverishment,… …   New thesaurus

  • poverty — ► NOUN 1) the state of being extremely poor. 2) the state of being insufficient in amount. ORIGIN Old French poverte, from Latin pauper poor …   English terms dictionary

  • Poverty — Street children sleeping in Mulberry Street – Jacob Riis photo New York, United States (1890) Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.[1] Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”