penury
4 synonyms and 3 antonyms for penury, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A state of severe poverty, or a particular period spent in it.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Antonyms
Etymology
Came into English as Late Middle English penuri, penurie (“destitution, need, poverty; dearth, lack, scarcity”), borrowed from Latin pēnūria (“need, scarcity, want”) combined with the Middle English suffix -i, -ie (forming abstract and collective nouns). Its further origin is uncertain, though it may be related to paen...
Full origin of penury →