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poor

poor

 
 
pronunciation:
por
parts of speech:
adjective, noun
features:
Word Combinations (adjective), Homophone Note, Word Builder, Word Explorer
part of speech: adjective
inflections: poorer, poorest
definition 1: without money, possessions, or other means of livelihood.
His family was poor and the children had barely enough to eat.
synonyms:
broke, destitute, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, penniless, penurious, poverty-stricken
antonyms:
affluent, moneyed, opulent, prosperous, rich, wealthy, well-fixed, well-heeled
similar words:
bankrupt, insolvent, needy, threadbare
definition 2: indicating such a condition.
They lived in a poor shack by the railroad tracks.
synonyms:
exiguous, meager, miserable, sorry
antonyms:
luxurious, moneyed
similar words:
barren, desolate, lean, paltry, threadbare, wretched
definition 3: lacking; deficient.
The soil was poor for farming.He claims this is a spiritually poor nation.
synonyms:
barren, deficient, inadequate, insufficient, wanting
antonyms:
affluent, deadly, good, rich
similar words:
cull, feeble, inferior, meager, mean
definition 4: below standard.
She was a poor student and barely finished high school.The carpenter did a very poor job on the cabinets.That restaurant has very poor food in my opinion.
antonyms:
excellent, fine, first-class, good, grand, great, mean, respectable, sterling, superb, superior, superlative
similar words:
awful, base, cull, hopeless, incapable, ineffective, inferior, mean, of a sort, of sorts, pathetic, second-class, second-rate, shabby, sorry, sour, vile, weak, wretched
definition 5: below average; low.
The abandoned cub has a poor chance of survival.The concert got a poor turnout.
antonyms:
good
definition 6: unfortunate or unlucky (used to express sympathy).
That poor woman! First her husband died. and now her son has been diagnosed with cancer.
synonyms:
hapless, luckless, miserable, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, sorry, unfortunate, unlucky, wretched
antonyms:
fortunate, lucky
similar words:
forlorn, ill-fated, ill-starred, pathetic, star-crossed
Word CombinationsSubscriber feature About this feature
 
part of speech: noun
definition: (used with a pl. verb) poor people considered as a group (usu. prec. by "the").
To spite his greedy relatives upon his death, he left his money to the poor.
synonyms:
homeless, indigent, unfortunate
antonyms:
rich
Homophone Note
The words poor, pore, and pour sound alike but have different meanings.
Word Builder: poor +
  • poorly:
    in a poor way; not well.
Word Explorer
See
  money