poor
(pŏŏr)
[Middle English poure, from Old French povre, from Latin pauper.]
adjective: poor·er, poor·est.
- Having little or no wealth and few or no possessions.
- Lacking in a specified resource or quality: an area poor in timber and coal; a diet poor in calcium.
- Not adequate in quality; inferior: a poor performance.
- Lacking in value; insufficient: poor wages.
- Lacking in quantity: poor attendance.
- Lacking fertility: poor soil.
- Undernourished; lean.
- Humble: a poor spirit.
- Eliciting or deserving pity; pitiable: couldn't rescue the poor fellow.
noun
- People with little or no wealth and possessions considered as a group: The urban poor are in need of homes.
derivatives
- pooŕness
- noun
usage note
Usage Note: In informal speech poor is sometimes used as an adverb, as in They never played poorer. In formal usage more poorly would be required in this example.
synonyms:
poor, indigent, needy, impecunious, penniless, impoverished, poverty-stricken, destitute These adjectives mean lacking the money or the means for an adequate or comfortable life. Poor is the most general: “Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness” (Samuel Johnson) Indigent and needy refer to one in need or want: indigent people living on the street; distributed food to needy families. Impecunious and penniless mean having little or no money: “Certainly an impecunious Subaltern was not a catch” (Rudyard Kipling) He made poor investments which left him penniless. One who is impoverished has been reduced to poverty: an impoverished, third-world country. Poverty-stricken means suffering from poverty and miserably poor: refugees living in poverty-stricken camps. Destitute means lacking any means of subsistence: tenants left destitute by the fire.
