| English Dictionary |
IMPOVERISHED
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does impoverished mean?
• IMPOVERISHED (adjective)
The adjective IMPOVERISHED has 2 senses:
1. poor enough to need help from others
2. destroyed financially
Familiarity information: IMPOVERISHED used as an adjective is rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Poor enough to need help from others
Synonyms:
destitute; impoverished; indigent; necessitous; needy; poverty-stricken
Similar:
poor (having little money or few possessions)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Destroyed financially
Synonyms:
broken; impoverished; wiped out
Context example:
the broken fortunes of the family
Similar:
destroyed (spoiled or ruined or demolished)
Context examples
Elinor had some difficulty here to refrain from observing, that she thought Fanny might have borne with composure, an acquisition of wealth to her brother, by which neither she nor her child could be possibly impoverished.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
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