Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

poverty

/ˈpɑːvɚti/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.46 in modern English

Syllables: pover-ty
IPA: /ˈpɑːvɚti/

15

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The quality or state of being poor; lack of money

Uncountable

noun

A deficiency of something needed or desired

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"get into poverty"
"get out of poverty"
"escape from poverty"
"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."
"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."
"poverty of soil"

Etymology

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.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *peh₂w-, poverte, poverté, paupertās

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpɑːvɚti/
British English: /ˈpɒvəti/

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

poverties (plural)

Derived Forms

antipoverty nonpoverty povertyism povo ultrapoverty

Phrases

digital poverty energy poverty fuel poverty furniture poverty hygiene poverty income poverty period poverty poverty button

Frequently Paired Words

impoverish poor poorness aporophobia broke-ass hardship have nothing to lose keep the wolf from the door

Synonyms

beggary brokeness destitution impecuniosity impecuniousness indigence mendicancy mendicity misery neediness pauperism penury

Antonyms

abundance decadence lap of luxury luxury riches richness wanting for nothing wealth wealthiness

Rhymes With

antipoverty dirty thirty flirty qwerty purty hurty shirty alberty cherty skirty

Questions

How do you pronounce poverty?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɑːvɚti/.
What does poverty mean?: The quality or state of being poor; lack of money
Where does poverty come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce poverty

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “poverty”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɑːvɚti/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “poverty”.
Repeat and practice — Say “poverty” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.