poverty
poverty
/ˈpɒvəti/
conditions of extreme/abject poverty
to alleviate poverty
in poverty Many elderly people live in poverty.
For him music was the way out of poverty.
He was born into poverty and political chaos.
More than 1.5 million Americans fell into poverty last year.
The government is aiming to reduce child poverty (= the number of children living below the poverty line).
to tackle/combat/fight poverty
to escape/flee poverty
Most of the population lives in grinding poverty.
a plan to eradicate urban poverty
Land reform would help to alleviate rural poverty.
Collocations
adjective
abjectabsoluteextreme…
verb + poverty
alleviatecombatfight…
poverty + noun
trapratereduction…
preposition
in povertypoverty amongpoverty of…
phrases
above/below/under the poverty levelabove/below/under the poverty lineat the poverty level…
There is a poverty of colour in her work.
His work displays a poverty of imagination.
Word Origin
Middle English: from Old French poverte, from Latin paupertas, from pauper ‘poor’.
e.g.