Poverty Meaning
/ˈpɒvəti/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe quality or state of being poor; lack of money
nounA deficiency of something needed or desired
Sentence Examples
Rye was called the grain of poverty.
We want freedom from poverty.
We are committed to fighting against poverty and injustice.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
Many families in that region live in ____, unable to afford basic food and shelter.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The charity worked to alleviate ____ by providing education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English poverte, from Old French poverté (Modern French pauvreté), from Latin paupertās, from pauper (“poor”) + -tas (“noun of state suffix”). Cognates include pauper, poor.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"From there Prince Rupert, the Royalist general and nephew of Charles I, demanded over £2,000 from the mayor of Leicester to pay the king's forces who were camped around Queniborough. The mayor, however, pleaded poverty and sent only £500."
— 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 329, about Queniborough:
"America’s poverty line is $63 a day for a family of four. In the richer parts of the emerging world $4 a day is the poverty barrier. But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 (the average of the 15 poorest countries’ own poverty lines, measured in 2005 dollars and adjusted for differences in purchasing power): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short."
— 2013 June 1, “Towards the end of poverty”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 11:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Many families in that region live in ____, unable to afford basic food and shelter.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The charity worked to alleviate ____ by providing education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.