poor

The word “poor” means having little money or few possessions. In plain terms, lacking money, or lacking quality; also used sympathetically to mean "unfortunate.".

“Poor” is pronounced puu (/pʊɚ/ in IPA).

Here is “poor” used in a sentence: “The charity helps poor families pay for winter heating.”

Depending on how it is used, “poor” can be an adjective and a noun.

The word “poor” comes from Latin. From Old French povre, from Latin pauper — the same root that gives us "pauper.".

“Poor” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Poor” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: having little money or few possessions.

Poor suggests a lasting lack of money and possessions, an ongoing condition. Broke is more casual and usually temporary, meaning you have no cash to hand right now, even if you are normally comfortable. A wealthy person can be broke before payday, while a poor person is broke as a way of life.

No. While its core sense is having little money, poor also describes low quality, as in a poor performance or poor health, and it can express sympathy, as in 'the poor thing'. The exact meaning depends on context, but here it refers specifically to financial hardship.

In the money sense, the opposites are rich, wealthy, affluent and well-off, all describing people with plenty of money or possessions. When poor means low quality instead, its opposites shift to good, excellent or superior. The right antonym depends entirely on which meaning you have in mind.