Poverty - Wikipedia-style Article

Poverty

Definition

The term "poverty" describes the state of being extremely poor or lacking the financial means to meet basic needs.

Parts of Speech

Noun

Pronunciation

American English

IPA Pronunciation: /ˈpɑː.vɚ.ti/
Respelling: PAH-vur-tee

British English

IPA Pronunciation: /ˈpɒv.ə.ti/
Respelling: POV-uh-tee

Etymology

The word "poverty" originates from the Latin "paupertās," meaning "poor condition," derived from "pauper," meaning "poor." It entered Middle English through Old French "poverté" in the 12th century.

Derivatives

Pauper (noun)
Impoverish (verb)
Impoverished (adjective)
Antipoverty (adjective)
Poverty-stricken (adjective)

Synonyms

Destitution
Deprivation
Penury

Antonyms

Wealth
Affluence
Prosperity

Usage

The term "poverty" is widely used in discussions about socioeconomic conditions. For example, "The organization works to alleviate poverty in rural areas," or "He grew up in poverty, but later achieved success."

Related Terms

Unemployment: The state of not having a job.
Inequality: The condition of being unequal in wealth or opportunities.
Standard of living: The level of wealth and comfort available to a person or community.

Detailed Definitions

Noun

The state of having little or no money, goods, or means of support:
- Example: "Millions of families live in extreme poverty worldwide."
The condition of being insufficient in resources or lacking in quality:
- Example: "The poverty of educational opportunities in the region is a concern."
Scarcity or lack of something desired or needed:
- Example: "The poverty of imagination in the script led to poor reviews."

poverty

Millions of families live in extreme poverty worldwide.

The poverty of educational opportunities in the region is a concern.

The poverty of imagination in the script led to poor reviews.

🇨🇳 Mandarin

贫穷 (pínqióng) (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /phǐn tɕʰjʊ̯ǎŋ/
Respelling: pin-qiong

‍

匮乏 (kuìfá) (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /kʰwèi fǎ/
Respelling: kwei-fa

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🇮🇳 Hindi

गरीबी (garibi) (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /ɡəriːbiː/
Respelling: ga-ri-bi

‍

कमी (kami) (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /kəmiː/
Respelling: ka-mi

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🇪🇸 Spanish

Pobreza (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /poˈβɾeθa/
Respelling: po-bre-tha

‍

Escasez (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /eskaˈseθ/
Respelling: es-ka-se-th

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🇫🇷 French

Pauvreté (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /po.vʁe.te/
Respelling: po-vre-te

‍

Manque (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /mɑ̃k/
Respelling: mank

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🇸🇦 Modern Standard Arabic

فقر (faqir) (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /faqɪr/
Respelling: fa-kir

‍

نقص (naqs) (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /naqs/
Respelling: naks

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🇧🇩 Bengali

দারিদ্র্য (daridryo) (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /d̪arid̪rjo/
Respelling: da-rid-ryo

‍

ঘাটতি (ghāṭaṭi) (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /ɡʱat̪i/
Respelling: gha-ta-ti

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🇷🇺 Russian

Бедность (bednost') (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /bʲɪdˈnosʲtʲ/
Respelling: be-dnost

‍

Нехватка (nekhvatka) (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /nʲɪxˈfatkə/
Respelling: ne-khvat-ka

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🇵🇹 Portuguese

Pobreza (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /puˈβɾezɐ/
Respelling: po-bre-za

‍

Escassez (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /iʃkɐˈsɛs/
Respelling: es-ca-sez

‍

🇮🇩 Indonesian

Kemiskinan (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /kəmiskinan/
Respelling: ke-mis-ki-nan

‍

Kekurangan (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /kəkurangan/
Respelling: ke-ku-ran-gan

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🇩🇪 German

Armut (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /ˈaʁmuːt/
Respelling: ar-moot

‍

Knappheit (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /ˈknapʰai̯t/
Respelling: knap-heit

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🇯🇵 Japanese

貧困 (hinkon) (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /çiŋkoɴ/
Respelling: hin-kon

‍

不足 (fusoku) (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /ɸɯ̟ᵝsokɯ̟ᵝ/
Respelling: fu-so-ku

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🇻🇳 Vietnamese

Nghèo nàn (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /ŋɛw˨˩ˀ naːn˨˩/
Respelling: ngheo nan

‍

Thiếu hụt (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /tʰiəw˧ˀ hʊt̚˧˦/
Respelling: thieu hut

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🇰🇷 Korean

빈곤 (bingon) (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /pinɡon/
Respelling: bin-gon

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부족 (bujok) (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /pu.tɕʌk̚/
Respelling: bu-jok

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🇹🇷 Turkish

Yoksulluk (Poverty as in destitution)
IPA Pronunciation: /joksulːuk/
Respelling: yok-sul-luk

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Eksiklik (Poverty as in scarcity)
IPA Pronunciation: /ek.sikˈlik/
Respelling: ek-sik-lik

‍

Poverty

Definition

Poverty generally refers to the state of being extremely poor.

Parts of Speech

Poverty is primarily used as a noun in English.

Pronunciation

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet): /ˈpɑːvərti/
American English respelling: PAH-ver-tee
British English respelling: PO-vər-tee

Etymology

The term "poverty" comes from the Middle English word "poverte", which was borrowed from the Old French "povreté". This, in turn, is derived from Latin "paupertas" meaning "poverty, paucity", from "pauper" meaning "poor".

Derivatives

Impoverish
Poverty-stricken
Pauper
Pauperize
Pauperism

Synonyms

Destitution
Penury
Indigence

Antonyms

Wealth
Affluence
Prosperity

Usage

"Poverty" is widely used in various contexts to refer to the economic condition of lack of both money and basic necessities needed to successfully live, such as food, water, education, healthcare, and shelter. The term is also used in social, political, and economic discussions and debates.

Related Terms

Poverty Line: The estimated minimum level of income needed to secure the necessities of life.
Poverty Rate: The ratio of the number of people (in a given age group) whose income falls below the poverty line.
Poverty Trap: A spiraling mechanism which forces people to remain poor.

Detailed Definition

As a noun, "poverty" denotes:

The state of being extremely poor.
Example: He grew up in poverty, but later became a successful businessman.
The state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount.
Example: The poverty of her imagination is revealed in her paintings.

Poverty is not commonly used as a verb or adjective. However, the term "impoverish" (a derivative of poverty) is a verb that means to make someone poor or to exhaust the richness or fertility of something. For instance: