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poor
[ poor ]
adjective
- having little or no money, goods, or other means of support:
She came from a poor family struggling to survive.
Synonyms: , , , , , , ,
Antonyms: ,
- Law. dependent upon charity or public support.
- (of a country, institution, etc.) meagerly supplied or endowed with resources or funds.
- characterized by or showing poverty.
- deficient or lacking in something specified:
a region poor in mineral deposits.
Synonyms:
- faulty or inferior, as in construction:
poor workmanship.
Synonyms: ,
- (of land or soil) lacking abundance or productivity:
poor soil.
Synonyms: , ,
Antonyms:
- excessively lean or emaciated, as cattle.
Synonyms: , , ,
- of an inferior, inadequate, or unsatisfactory kind:
poor health.
- lacking in skill, ability, or training:
a poor cook.
- deficient in moral excellence; cowardly, abject, or mean.
- scanty, meager, or paltry in amount or number:
a poor audience.
They shared their poor meal with a stranger.
The poor dog was limping.
Synonyms: , ,
noun
- Usually the poor. Often Disparaging and Offensive. poor people collectively.
poor
/ pʊə; pɔː /
adjective
- lacking financial or other means of subsistence; needy
- ( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the poor
- characterized by or indicating poverty
the country had a poor economy
- deficient in amount; scanty or inadequate
a poor salary
- whenpostpositive, usually foll by in badly supplied (with resources, materials, etc)
a region poor in wild flowers
- lacking in quality; inferior
- giving no pleasure; disappointing or disagreeable
a poor play
- prenominal deserving of pity; unlucky
poor John is ill again
- poor man's somethinga (cheaper) substitute for something
Pronunciation Note
Derived Forms
- ˈǴǰԱ, noun
Other Word Forms
- Ǵǰ·Ա noun
- ԴDz·Ǵǰ noun
- ܲ·-Ǵǰ adjective
- ܲ·-Ǵǰ·ly adverb
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of poor1
Idioms and Phrases
- poor as Job's turkey, Southern and South Midland U.S. extremely poor.
- poor as a church mouse, extremely poor.
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Relations have been so poor between DR Congo and Rwanda that the meeting in Washington and a promise to resolve disputes through dialogue is a sign of progress.
June 2021: Pham addressed the torrent of verbal abuse he experienced after getting off to a poor start with the San Diego Padres.
“I went up to coach Kelly and I said, ‘You might want to consider this kid Carson Schwesinger as a walk-on — he’s a poor man’s Ethan Calvert,’” Charles Collins told The Times last fall.
On Thursday the first minister, who described the pontiff as "a man who was always on the side of the poor", confirmed he would attend the service.
He said several government departments have poor recording keeping, meaning the amount spent during some contracts might not always be updated in a timely fashion.
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Related Words
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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