English Explanatory Dictionary

poor

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.
  2. Of low quality.
  3. Worthy of pity.
  4. Deficient in a specified way.
  5. Inadequate, insufficient.
  6. Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek.
noun
  1. The poor people of a society or the world collectively, the poor class of a society.
  2. the second-to-last placer in Tycoon
noun
  1. A poor person.
  2. Synonym of poor cod.
verb
  1. Synonym of impoverish, to make poor.
  2. To become poor.
  3. To call poor.
name
  1. A surname

Pronunciation

/pʊɚ/ /pʊɹ/ /pɔɹ/ en-us-poor.ogg /pɔː/ /pʊə/ en-uk-poor.ogg /pʉːɹ/ /puːɹ/ /poː/ /pur/ /ˈpʊwə(r)/ [ˈpu(ː)(ʋ)ə(ɾ)] /po(r)/ /poʊ/

Word forms

poor poorer poorest poors pooring poored

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English povre, povere, from Old French (and Anglo-Norman) povre, poure, from Latin pauper, from Old Latin *pavo-pars (literally “getting little”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, small”). Doublet of pauper. displaced native wantsome, Middle English unlede (“poor”) (from Old English unlǣde), Middle English unweli, unwely (“poor, unwealthy”) (from Old English un- + weliġ (“well-to-do, prosperous, rich”)). and almost fully arm

Synonyms

broke impecunious needy almsless arm badly off bankrupt beggared beggarly boracic broken broker than the Ten Commandments depauperate destitute dirt poor disadvantaged down and out down at heel down on one's luck down on one's uppers empty-handed feeling the pinch flat goodless hard up impoverished in need indigent insolvent lower-class necessitous oofless pauperized penniless penurious pinched pok kai poor poor as a church mouse poor as a rat poor as Job possessionless poverty-ridden poverty-stricken shillingless skint stone-broke stony-broke strapped stuck threadbare unwealthy wealthless cheap inferior low sorry ass bad base

Antonyms

rich wealthy good adequate decent

Related words

few paucal pauci- paucity pauper

Derived words

antipoor being poor is a mindset being poor is a state of mind cash poor cash-poor court poor box dirt poor dirt-poor fuel-poor have a poor time of it house poor impoor income-poor in poor taste insurance poor iron-poor land-poor land poor Little Sister of the Poor metal-poor nonpoor oxygen-poor piss on the poor piss-poor piss poor poor as a barber's cat poor as a church mouse poor as a rat poor as Job poor as Job's turkey poor box poor boy poor dab poor devil poor diddums poor doer poor door poor farm poor form poor house poorhouse poor is a mindset poor is a state of mind poorish poorism poor-john poor knights of Windsor poor law poorling poor little boy poor little girl poor little meow meow poor little rich boy poor little rich girl poor loser poorly poor man of mutton poor man's poor man's asparagus poor man's black velvet
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