Thesaurus
poor
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of POOR
1
lacking money or material possessions <every year, we make up a basket of food at Thanksgiving for a poor family in the neighborhood>
Synonyms beggared, beggarly, broke, destitute, dirt-poor, down-and-out, famished, hard up, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, necessitous, needful, needy, pauperized, penniless, penurious, poverty-stricken, skint [chiefly British], threadbare
Related Words deprived, disadvantaged, dispossessed, unaffluent, underprivileged; bankrupt, bankrupted, bust (or busted), insolvent; possessionless, ruined; depressed, distressed, hand-to-mouth, hardscrabble, pinched, poorish, reduced, straitened; cash-strapped, low, short, tapped out
Phrases down on one's luck, out at elbows (or out at the elbows), out of pocket
Near Antonyms comfortable, prosperous
Antonyms affluent, deep-pocketed, fat, fat-cat, flush, moneyed (also monied), opulent, rich, silk-stocking, wealthy, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do
2
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation <land that is too poor for farming>
Synonyms bony (also boney), dead, desolate, hardscrabble, impoverished, infertile, poor, stark, unfertile, unproductive, waste
Related Words bleak, inhospitable, lifeless; uncultivable, untillable; bankrupted, consumed, debilitated, depleted, diminished, drained, dried-up, enfeebled, exhausted, expended, lessened, reduced, spent, used up; arid, desert, droughty, dry, rainless, sere (also sear), thirsty, waterless; baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbaked
3
less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable <a poor crop because of the drought this year>
Synonyms exiguous, hand-to-mouth, light, niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, scarce, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparing, sparse, stingy
Related Words deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, short, wanting; bare, bare-bones; least, littlest, lowest, mere, minimal, slightest; slight, small, thin; barren, infertile, sterile, unfruitful, unproductive
4
falling short of a standard <a pretty poor musician, even for a garage band>
Synonyms bastard, bush, bush-league, crummy (also crumby), deficient, dissatisfactory, ill, inferior, lame, lousy, off, paltry, poor, punk, sour, suboptimal, subpar, substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wack [slang], wanting, wretched, wrong
Related Words abysmal, atrocious, awful, bitchin' [slang], brutal, damnable, deplorable, detestable, disastrous, dreadful, execrable, gnarly [slang], horrendous, horrible, pathetic, stinky, sucky [slang], terrible, unspeakable; defective, faulty, flawed; egregious, flagrant, gross; bum, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy [slang], cut-rate, junky, lesser, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, reprehensible, rotten, rubbishy, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, trashy; abominable, odious, vile; useless, valueless, worthless; inadequate, insufficient, lacking, meager (or meagre), mean, miserly, niggardly, scanty, shabby, short, skimp, skimpy, spare, stingy; miscreant, scurrilous, villainous; counterfeit, fake, phony (also phoney), sham
Near Antonyms classic, classical; A1, bang-up, banner, boss [slang], capital, choice, crackerjack, dandy, divine, excellent, exceptional, fabulous, fine, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-test, jim-dandy, keen, marvelous (or marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, par excellence, perfect, premium, prime, sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch, unsurpassed, wonderful; better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, special, sufficient; average, borderline, fair, mediocre, middling, minimal, so-so, unexceptional; suitable, useful, worthy; gratifying, satisfying
Antonyms acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, fine, OK (or okay), passable, respectable, satisfactory, standard, tolerable
5
of low quality <the poor workmanship of the goods from that country>
Synonyms bad, bargain-basement, bum, cheapjack, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy [slang], cut-rate, el cheapo, execrable, gimcrack, inferior, junky, lousy, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, poor, rotten, rubbishy, schlock (or schlocky also shlock or shlocky), second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, terrible, trashy, trumpery, wretched
Related Words useless, valueless, worthless; indifferent, lackluster, second-class; brummagem, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, kitsch, kitschy, meretricious, ostentatious, showy, splashy, swank (or swanky), tawdry; seedy, shabby, tacky; counterfeit, fake, phony (also phoney), sham; supercheap, ultracheap
6
deserving of one's pity <aw, the poor kitten hurt its paw>
Synonyms heartbreaking, heartrending, miserable, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, poor, rueful, sorry, wretched
Related Words deplorable, lamentable, regrettable; emotional, impressive, inspiring; affecting, moving, poignant, stirring, touching; awful, horrible, terrible; distressing, disturbing, upsetting; grievous, mournful, sad, sorrowful, woeful
Near Antonyms unimpressive, uninspiring
Seen & Heard
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