poor

adjective

ˈpu̇r

ˈpȯr

Synonyms of poor next

: lacking material possessions

: of, relating to, or characterized by poverty

: less than adequate : meager

: small in worth

: exciting pity

you poor thing

: inferior in quality or value

: humble, unpretentious

: mean, petty

: lean, emaciated

: barren, unproductive

—used of land

: indifferent, unfavorable

: lacking a normal or adequate supply of something specified

—often used in combination

oil-poor countries

poorish

ˈpu̇r-ish

ˈpȯr-

adjective

poorness noun

Examples of poor in a Sentence

We were too poor to buy new clothes. The organization helps poor families. She has a poor vocabulary. It was a poor attempt at a joke. He is in poor condition. She couldn't read the sign because her vision was too poor. See More

Recent Examples on the Web Part of the reason Gordon was available this offseason, however, is his poor ball security. —

C.j. Doon, Baltimore Sun, 11 Sep. 2023 In filings last year, Kookmin and USI rebutted Amtrak’s allegation that the station is plagued by poor maintenance and a lack of capital investment. —

Luz Lazo, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023 My poor wife took it upon herself to search for the wedding ring in dirty diapers. —

Alexandra Hurtado, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2023 The lack of a global standard allows rich countries, even those with carbon-pricing schemes, to continue emitting greenhouse gases at dramatically higher levels than poorer countries. —

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2023 Either because of poor performance, lowly opponents or small sample size, Oregon State’s DJ Uiagalelei, UCLA’s Dante Moore and ASU’s Jaden Rashada don’t make the Hotline’s cut for the top group, and Utah’s Rising has yet to take the field. —

Jon Wilner | , oregonlive, 10 Sep. 2023 For every poor field position given or lack of rest coming Auburn’s chore of an offense against Cal, the defense bent but didn’t break. —

Matt Cohen | McOhen@al.com, al, 10 Sep. 2023 Members form armed units to shadow police through poor black neighborhoods. —

Matt Thompson, Spin, 10 Sep. 2023 At the same time, your average passenger is neither poor nor unfamiliar with credit. —

Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'poor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English poure, from Anglo-French povre, pore, from Latin pauper; akin to Latin paucus little and to Latin parere to give birth to, produce — more at few, pare

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of poor was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century