Definitions for poverty
ˈpɒv ər tipover·ty

Princeton's WordNet(3.20 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. poverty, poorness, impoverishmentnoun

   the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions

Wiktionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. povertynoun

   The quality or state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence; indigence; need.

2. povertynoun

   Any deficiency of elements or resources that are needed or desired, or that constitute richness; as, poverty of soil; poverty of the blood; poverty of ideas.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Povertynoun

   Etymology: pauvreté, Fr.

   1. Indigence; necessity; want of riches.

   My men are the poorest,
   But poverty could never draw them from me. William Shakespeare.

   Such madness, as for fear of death to die,
   Is to be poor for fear of poverty. John Denham.

   These by their strict examples taught,
   How much more splendid virtue was than gold;
   Yet scarce their swelling thirst of fame could hide,
   And boasted poverty with too much pride. Matthew Prior.

   There is such a state as absolute poverty, when a man is destitute not only of the conveniencies, but the simple necessaries of life, being disabled from acquiring them, and depending entirely on charity. John Rogers.

   2. Meanness; defect.

   There is in all excellencies in compositions a kind of poverty, or a casualty or jeopardy. Francis Bacon.

Wikipedia(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Poverty

   Poverty is not having enough material possessions or income for a person's needs. Poverty may include social, economic, and political elements. Absolute poverty is the complete lack of the means necessary to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing and shelter. The threshold at which absolute poverty is defined is always about the same, independent of the person's permanent location or era. On the other hand, relative poverty occurs when a person cannot meet a minimum level of living standards, compared to others in the same time and place. Therefore, the threshold at which relative poverty is defined varies from one country to another, or from one society to another. For example, a person who cannot afford housing better than a small tent in an open field would be said to live in relative poverty if almost everyone else in that area lives in modern brick homes, but not if everyone else also lives in small tents in open fields (for example, in a nomadic tribe). Governments and non-governmental organizations try to reduce poverty. Providing basic needs to people who are unable to earn a sufficient income can be hampered by constraints on government's ability to deliver services, such as corruption, tax avoidance, debt and loan conditionalities and by the brain drain of health care and educational professionals. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, economic freedoms and providing financial services.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Povertynoun

   the quality or state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence; indigence; need

2. Povertynoun

   any deficiency of elements or resources that are needed or desired, or that constitute richness; as, poverty of soil; poverty of the blood; poverty of ideas

Freebase(3.08 / 11 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Poverty

   Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education. Relative poverty is defined contextually as economic inequality in the location or society in which people live. For much of history, poverty was considered largely unavoidable as traditional modes of production were insufficient to give an entire population a comfortable standard of living. After the industrial revolution, mass production in factories made wealth increasingly more inexpensive and accessible. Of more importance is the modernization of agriculture, such as fertilizers, to provide enough yield to feed the population. The supply of basic needs can be restricted by constraints on government services such as corruption, tax avoidance, debt and loan conditionalities and by the brain drain of health care and educational professionals. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, economic freedoms, and providing financial services. Poverty reduction is a major goal and issue for many international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. The World Bank estimated 1.29 billion people were living in absolute poverty in 2008. Of these, about 400 million people in absolute poverty lived in India and 173 million people in China. In USA 1 in 5 children lives in poverty. In terms of percentage of regional populations, sub-Saharan Africa at 47% had the highest incidence rate of absolute poverty in 2008. Between 1990 and 2010, about 663 million people moved above the absolute poverty level. Still, extreme poverty is a global challenge; it is observed in all parts of the world, including the developed economies.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Poverty

   pov′ėr-ti, n. the state of being poor: necessity: want: meanness: defect.—adjs. Pov′erty-strick′en, Pov′erty-struck, reduced to a state of poverty: in great suffering from poverty. [O. Fr. poverte (Fr. pauvreté)—L. paupertas, -tatis—pauper, poor.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Poverty

   A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of the community. It is often related to a specific income level.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'poverty' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3181

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'poverty' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3997

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'poverty' in Nouns Frequency: #1355

How to pronounce poverty?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say poverty in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of poverty in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of poverty in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of poverty in a Sentence

1. Oscar Auliq-Ice:

   No matter how good we get at solving environmental problems, it’s not enough to create a truly sustainable economy unless we address the social challenges that imperil sustainability. Foremost among those challenges are inequality and poverty.

2. Ali Mufuruki:

   We have a fast growing population, we have poverty that is refusing to go away, and we have wealth ... but this wealth is concentrated in a few hands.

3. William Barber:

   What we have to do at this moment is not only address what happened to George Floyd, but the interlocking problems of systemic racism, police brutality, the lack of healthcare, poverty and militarism.

4. Macharia Kamau:

   Both rapid and slow-onset climactic events are exposing years of poor investment and preparedness, demanding a much better financed and integrated response, these climactic events are also exposing the vulnerability of our grand plans for fighting poverty and sustaining our infrastructure.

5. Trust Kupupika:

   The BJL's not just one person losing a job and then history moves on, that one person didn't have access to wealth to pass down, and the next generation grows up in poverty. It's something that is forever going to be impacting the lives of black people even alive and present, here and now.

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