impoverished

UK: /ɪmˈpɒvərɪʃt/ US: (im pov′ər isht, -pov′risht)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

im•pov•er•ished  (im pov′ər isht, -pov′risht), adj. 

1. reduced to poverty.
2. (of a country, area, etc.) having few trees, flowers, birds, wild animals, etc.
3. deprived of strength, vitality, creativeness, etc.:
   an impoverished attempt at humor.

• impoverish + -ed² 1625–35

Synonyms

• 1. See poor. 

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

im•pov•er•ish /ɪmˈpɑvərɪʃ, -ˈpɑvrɪʃ/   v. [~ + object]

1. to reduce to poverty:
   The family was impoverished because neither parent could find work.
2. to exhaust the strength or vitality of:
   Excessive farming impoverished the soil.

im•pov•er•ished, adj.: 

We lived in an impoverished African country.

im•pov•er•ish•ment, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

im•pov•er•ish  (im pov′ər ish, -pov′rish), v.t. 

1. to reduce to poverty:
   a country impoverished by war.
2. to make poor in quality, productiveness, etc.;
   exhaust the strength or richness of:
   Bad farming practices impoverished the soil.

• Middle French empovriss- (long stem of empovrir), equivalent. to em- em-¹ + povre poor + -iss -ish²
• late Middle English empoverishen 1400–50

im•pov′er•ish•er, n. 
im•pov′er•ish•ment, n. 
Synonyms

• 2. deplete, drain; weaken, enervate, fatigue, cripple.

Antonyms

• 1, 2. enrich.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

impoverish / ɪmˈpɒvərɪʃ/ verb (transitive)

1. to make poor or diminish the quality of: to impoverish society by cutting the grant to the arts
2. to deprive (soil, etc) of fertility

Etymology: 15th Century: from Old French empovrir, from povre poor

imˈpoverishment noun