impoverish
verb
im·pov·er·ish
| \ im-ˈpäv-rish
, -ˈpä-və-\
, -ˈpä-və-\
impoverished;
impoverishing;
impoverishes
Definition of impoverish
1
: to make poor
2
: to deprive of strength, richness, or fertility by depleting or draining of something essential
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Other Words from impoverish
impoverisher
noun
impoverishment
\ im-ˈpäv-rish-mənt
, -ˈpä-və- \
noun
, -ˈpä-və- \
noun
Examples of impoverish in a Sentence
The dictator enriched himself but impoverished his people.
Poor farming practices impoverished the soil.
Recent Examples on the Web
His description of a political party hollowed out by corruption, sanctimony and faux patriotism, determined to impoverish the working class in order to enrich its rich patrons, was as prescient a description of today’s GOP as a soothsayer’s. — Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "In Britain, will Trump absorb his hero Winston Churchill’s hatred of tariffs?," 3 June 2019 The harsh terms of the treaty purportedly embittered and impoverished the Germans. — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "The Lessons of the Versailles Treaty," 25 July 2019 Since Mauritius became a tax haven, it has been criticized for impoverishing African governments and widening wealth inequality. — Abdi Latif Dahir, Quartz Africa, "How an idyllic African island became a tax haven for some of the world’s biggest corporations," 23 July 2019 Bárcena argues that at the root of present tensions is a social and economic crisis in countries in Central America’s impoverished Northern Triangle — Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, "Trump sees a border threat. Others see a crisis of conscience.," 8 July 2019 The point is that the sacrifices families made to shoulder their debt burden brought home the folly of forcing families to impoverish themselves to attain higher education. — Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "Eliminating student debt would be a terrific economic stimulus program," 24 June 2019 In comparison, 29% of Louisiana’s children were impoverished in 2016, and 27% of them lived in poverty in 2010. — nola.com, "Louisiana’s child population drops by 100k over last 3 decades," 17 June 2019 What is certain is that the fires are newly impoverishing the farmers whose crops have been lost. — Washington Post, "Mystery crop fires scorch thousands of acres in Syria and Iraq — and ISIS claims responsibility," 8 June 2019 In the Caribbean by providence impoverished In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar? — Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, "Got questions about 'Hamilton'? We break down the first song of the musical," 4 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impoverish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for impoverish
impoverish
verb
English Language Learners Definition of impoverish
: to make (someone) poor
: to use up the strength or richness of (something, such as land)
See the full definition for impoverish in the English Language Learners Dictionary
impoverish
verb
im·pov·er·ish
| \ im-ˈpä-və-rish
\
\
impoverished;
impoverishing
Kids Definition of impoverish
1
: to make poor
The greedy tyrant impoverished his people.
2
: to use up the strength or richness of
impoverished soil
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