poor Hear it!

poor Definition

poor (po̵or)

adjective

    1. lacking material possessions; having little or no means to support oneself; needy; impoverished
    2. indicating or characterized by poverty
  2. lacking in some quality or thing; specif.,
    1. lacking abundance; scanty; inadequate poor crops
    2. lacking productivity; barren; sterile poor soil
    3. lacking nourishment; feeble; emaciated a poor body
    4. lacking excellence or worth; below average, inferior, bad, etc. or paltry, mean, insignificant, etc.
    5. lacking good moral or mental qualities; mean-spirited; contemptible
    6. lacking pleasure, comfort, or satisfaction to have a poor time
    7. lacking skill
  3. worthy of pity; unfortunate

Etymology: ME pore < OFr povre < L pauper, poor < IE base *pōu-, small > few, foal

poor Related Forms

poor′·ness noun

poor Idioms

the poor

poor, or needy, people collectively

poor Synonyms

poor

modif.

  1. Lacking worldly goods

    indigent, impoverished, impecunious, destitute, needy, necessitous, penniless, poverty-stricken, underprivileged, disadvantaged, deprived, starved, starving, straitened, penurious, pinched, distressed, in reduced circumstances, beggared, famine-stricken, underdeveloped, empty-handed, insolvent, beggarly, ill-provided, ill-furnished, in want, in penury, suffering privation, in need, feeling the pinch, unable to make ends meet, poor as a church mouse*, broke*, hard up*, strapped for money*, down and out*, out at the elbows*; see also insolvent, ruined 4, wanting 1.

    Antonyms wealthy*, well-to-do*, affluent. *

  2. Lacking excellences

    pitiful, paltry, contemptible, miserable, pitiable, dwarfed, insignificant, diminutive, ordinary, common, mediocre, trashy, shoddy, worthless, sorry, base, mean, coarse, vulgar, inferior, imperfect, smaller, lesser, below par, subnormal, under average, second-rate, reduced, defective, deficient, lower, subordinate, minor, secondary, humble, second-hand, pedestrian, beggarly, homely, homespun, fourth-rate, tawdry, petty, unimportant, bad, cheap, flimsy, threadbare, badly made, less than good, unwholesome, lacking in quality, dowdy, undergrade, second-class, shabby, shoddy, valueless, easy, gaudy, mass-produced, gimcrack, squalid, catchpenny, trivial, sleazy, trifling, unsuccessful, second-best, tasteless, insipid, barbarous, vile, disgusting, despicable, rustic, crude, outlandish, odd, rock-bottom, garish, flashy, showy, inelegant, loud, unsightly, inartistic, affected, ramshackle, pretentious, tumble-down, glaring, artificial, flaunting, newfangled, out-of-date, old-fashioned, crummy*, junky*, two-bit*, schlock*, third-rate*, kitschy*, raunchy*, corny*, cheesy*; see also faulty, inadequate 1, unsatisfactory.

  3. Inadequate

    meager, scanty, sparse; see inadequate 1, scanty, wanting 1.

  4. Lacking vigor or health

    feeble, puny, infirm, indisposed; see sick, weak 1.

  5. Lacking fertility

    infertile, unproductive, barren; see sterile 1, 2, worthless 1.

  6. Worthy of pity

    unfortunate, pitiable, hapless, wretched; see unfortunate 2.

poor is the simple, direct term for one who lacks the resources for reasonably comfortable living; impoverished) is applied to one who having once had plenty is now reduced to poverty an impoverished aristocrat; destitute implies such great poverty that even the means for subsistence, such as food and shelter, are lacking left destitute by the war; impecunious applies to one who habitually lacks money and often suggests that this results from personal practices an impecunious gambler; indigent implies such relative poverty as results in a lack of comforts or luxuries and the endurance of hardships books for indigent children

poor Synonyms

poor

n.

needy, forgotten man, the unemployed, underdogs, the underprivileged, beggars, the impoverished masses, second-class citizen, have-nots*; see also pauper, people 3.

poor Usage Examples

Preposition: as

mouse: If you have investigated my record you must know I am as poor as these miserable mice.

Adjective modifier

  • rural: We work with the rural poor, using their own skills and knowledge to develop sustainable solutions to poverty.
  • urban: Both crises have their roots in the alienation of a whole generation of our young, and especially our ethnic minority, urban poor.

Modifies a noun

  • country: Niger, for example, is the poorest country in the world.
  • performance: The highest personal lawyer should be estate has also the poor performance.
  • condition: Johnson provided a detailed account of the very poor condition into which the castle had fallen.
  • quality: The services they get tend to be of poorer quality.
  • farmer: Now these poor black farmers were the center of attention.
  • visibility: Night navigation to be more confident in poor visibility or the dark.

Used with adjective complement

  • chastise: A higher deductible we're mostly young club agency inc than chastise poor.
  • remain: Overall the performance of British public services remains poor by Continental standards.
  • become: If the sharpness of vision from one eye becomes poor the brain will be less able to do this.

Infinitive complement

afford: Over 70 children attended the Burgh School in 1870 paid for by the Town Council for families too poor to afford schooling.

Modifying Another Word

  • relatively: In Higher Education we have relatively poor participation rates which must be improved.
  • desperately: I have only been married four years and have just given birth for the fifth time and it has made us desperately poor financially.
  • pretty: We found one ISP in a pretty poor condition.
  • very: However, the vast majority of them are very poor.
  • extremely: By 1998, the SS Great Britain's condition was extremely poor.

Preposition: in

comparison: DAB has the capabilities to sound stunning and can under the right conditions leave FM broadcasts sounding very poor in comparison.

Preposition: of

parish: Mr. Henry Smith left the sum of 4l. per annum to the poor of this parish.

Browse dictionary entries near poor

  1. ‹ pooper-scooper
  2. ‹ poop sheet
  3. ‹ Poopó
  4. ‹ poop
  5. ‹ poontang
  6. ‹ Poona
  7. ‹ poon
  8. ‹ poolside
  9. ‹ poolroom
  10. ‹ Poole
  1. poor box ›
  2. poor-boy ›
  3. poor farm ›
  4. poor laws ›
  5. poor-mouth ›
  6. poor-spirited ›
  7. Poor SUID ›
  8. poor white ›
  9. poorhouse ›
  10. poori ›