poor
people without possessions or wealth (considered as a group)
- the urban poor need assistance
• Syn:
poor people
• Ant:
rich, rich people (for: poor people)
• Usage Domain:
plural, plural form
• Hypernyms:
people
• Hyponyms:
homeless, needy
1. deserving or inciting pity (Freq. 18)
- a hapless victim
- miserable victims of war
- "the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic"- Galsworthy
- piteous appeals for help
- pitiable homeless children
- a pitiful fate
- Oh, you poor thing
- his poor distorted limbs
- a wretched life
• Syn:
hapless, miserable, misfortunate, pathetic, piteous,
pitiable, pitiful, wretched
• Similar to:
unfortunate
• Derivationally related forms:
wretchedness (for: wretched), pity (for: piteous), pathos (for: pathetic), miserableness (for: miserable)
2. having little money or few possessions (Freq. 12)
- deplored the gap between rich and poor countries
- the proverbial poor artist living in a garret
• Ant:
rich
• Similar to:
broke, bust, skint, stone-broke, stony-broke,
destitute, impoverished, indigent, necessitous, needy, poverty-stricken,
hard up, impecunious, in straitened circumstances, penniless, penurious, pinched,
moneyless, unprovided for
• See Also:
underprivileged
• Derivationally related forms:
poorness
• Attrubites:
financial condition
3. characterized by or indicating poverty (Freq. 2)
- the country had a poor economy
- they lived in the poor section of town
• Ant:
rich
• Similar to:
beggarly, mean, slummy
• Derivationally related forms:
poorness
4. lacking in specific resources, qualities or substances
- a poor land
- the area was poor in timber and coal
- food poor in nutritive value
• Ant:
rich
• Similar to:
resourceless
• Derivationally related forms:
poorness
5. not sufficient to meet a need
- an inadequate income
- a poor salary
- money is short
- on short rations
- food is in short supply
- short on experience
• Syn:
inadequate, short
• Similar to:
insufficient, deficient
• Derivationally related forms:
shortness (for: short), poorness, inadequateness (for: inadequate)
6. unsatisfactory
- a poor light for reading
- poor morale
- expectations were poor
• Similar to:
bad
• Derivationally related forms:
poorness
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