First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
penury
noun pen·u·ry \ˈpen-yə-rē\
: the state of being very poor : extreme poverty
Full Definition of PENURY
1
: a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (as money); especially : severe poverty
2
: extreme and often niggardly frugality
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Origin of PENURY
Middle English, from Latin penuria, paenuria want; perhaps akin to Latin paene almost
Related to PENURY
- Synonyms
- beggary, destituteness, destitution, impecuniosity, impecuniousness, impoverishment, indigence, necessity, need, neediness, pauperism, penuriousness, poverty, poorness, want
- Antonyms
- affluence, opulence, richness, wealth, wealthiness
Synonym Discussion of PENURY
poverty, indigence, penury, want, destitution mean the state of one with insufficient resources. poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts <the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers>. indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances <the indigence of her years as a graduate student>. penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money <a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury>. want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure <lived in a perpetual state of want> <the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine>.
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