poor

adjective

ˈpu̇r How to pronounce poor (audio)
Definition of poornext
1
as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions every year, we make up a basket of food at Thanksgiving for a poor family in the neighborhood

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2
as in desolate
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation land that is too poor for farming

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in scarce
less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable a poor crop because of the drought this year

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4
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard a pretty poor musician, even for a garage band

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in terrible
of low quality the poor workmanship of the goods from that store

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6
as in pitiful
deserving of one's pity aw, the poor kitten hurt its paw

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of poor The findings paint a picture of a response marred by poor preparation, communication issues and disorganized leadership that struggled to coordinate between jurisdictions. — Evan Bush, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026 But after James started against the Boilermakers, Williams helped Notre Dame total a season-high 177 rushing yards against a poor Purdue run defense. — Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026 People are often poor judges of their own strengths in these areas, especially the harder-to-measure ones like self-awareness and communication. — Drew McLellan, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026 The tweets are, admittedly, in poor taste, but, to be fair, Bell was 14 years old at the time. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for poor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poor
  1. impoverished
  2. desolate
  3. scarce
  4. unacceptable
  5. terrible
  6. pitiful
  7. broke
  8. barren
Adjective
  • Three gunmen barged into a small house in an impoverished neighborhood in South Africa and opened fire on a group enjoying a party inside, killing at least 11 people including a pregnant woman, police and local authorities said Wednesday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • In 1693, Antoine Theroux, an impoverished 18-year-old boatman, was recruited to defend New France, as Canada was then known, against the Indigenous tribes and the British for King Louis XIV.
    — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of impoverished
Adjective
  • Along a desolate stretch of California desert highway, next to a ramshackle home, law enforcement officials on Wednesday dug for a second day in a search for bodies.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • With its fragile acoustic melodies, desolate lyrics, and spare, subtle studio accompaniment, Ride Lonesome is like Nick Drake’s mumble-folk masterpiece Bryter Layter as the work of a lovelorn Laurel Canyon soft-rock poet.
    — Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of desolate
Adjective
  • In line with Parton’s original goal, the Imagination Library may do the most to change reading habits in lower-income homes – where children’s books tend to be scarce.
    — Alex H. Poole, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Both men said that California was expensive, housing too scarce, homelessness too common and education too often failing to serve the state’s children.
    — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of scarce
Adjective
  • With a team that has a margin of error as small as the Dolphins, these penalties are unacceptable.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Likewise, the underlying crisis of commercially unacceptable risk in the Strait isn’t anywhere close to being resolved.
    — David Faris, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of unacceptable
Adjective
  • Platforms prefill a name, email and phone number so a user can submit in one tap without leaving the feed, which is wonderful for a consumer promotion and terrible for a six-figure investment.
    — Jonathan Durante, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Saddled with terrible reviews and negative word-of-mouth, Tom Cruise‘s absurdist dark comedy has cratered at the box office with $8 million in North America and $20 million globally in its first weekend of release.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of terrible
Adjective
  • Completing the hat trick in pitiful style, Taking on the World was shot on a shoestring budget, helmed by the man behind Highlander III, and forced to rely on stock footage of real-life footballers.
    — Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 June 2026
  • Given the national team’s pitiful demise at the Oval, with New Zealand completing victory on the fifth morning, Ben Stokes’ revival in absentia feels like the only consolation from a miserable week.
    — Hector Vickers, New York Times, 21 June 2026
Definition of pitiful
Adjective
  • Haasan plays a broke graduate who passes himself off as a rich man at a hotel, with Amala Akkineni co-starring.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The fact that the region’s broke local government is paying a total of 12 million for a renewable partnership with the Centre Pompidou doesn’t help.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of broke
Adjective
  • Pollinators and birds have found a welcoming haven here, is a spot that was previously barren, rocky ground.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The 80-kilometer stretch between Abu Dhabi and Dubai — a barren expanse of farms, factories, warehouses, and not much else — is now drawing multibillion-dollar property projects.
    — Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of barren

Browse Nearby Words

pooped
poor
poorish
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Cite this Entry

“Poor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poor. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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