impoverished
adjective
im·pov·er·ished
im-ˈpä-v(ə-)risht 
1
: reduced to poverty : poor
an impoverished family/community
2
: exhausted of richness or fertility
impoverished soils
3
of a fauna or flora
: represented by few species or individuals
Examples of impoverished in a Sentence
the widespread hope that the lottery's record-setting jackpot is won by an impoverished family
an impoverished field that over the years had been overgrazed
Recent Examples on the Web
An education advocate, Jackson founded the PUSH/Excel program to motivate Black and impoverished students to achieve excellence through schooling.
—
Charlotte Observer, 17 Feb. 2026
Education isn’t a cure-all; North Korea appears to have decent schools yet is impoverished and totalitarian.
—Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026
When Heathcliff, a foundling, discovers that Cathy Earnshaw, the daughter of the impoverished Yorkshire lord who’s taken him in, has played a prank on him by putting eggs in his beds to be crushed, the boy plunges his fingers into the slippery puddle of yolk and albumen left behind.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
Pilgrims also threw in coins as offerings, some later retrieved by impoverished people to survive.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impoverished
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Charlotte Observer, 17 Feb. 2026
Education isn’t a cure-all; North Korea appears to have decent schools yet is impoverished and totalitarian.
—Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026
When Heathcliff, a foundling, discovers that Cathy Earnshaw, the daughter of the impoverished Yorkshire lord who’s taken him in, has played a prank on him by putting eggs in his beds to be crushed, the boy plunges his fingers into the slippery puddle of yolk and albumen left behind.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026
Pilgrims also threw in coins as offerings, some later retrieved by impoverished people to survive.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impoverished
Cite this Entry
“Impoverished.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impoverished. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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