PENURY Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'penury' distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of penury are destitution , indigence , poverty , and want . While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money. // a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

Q: Where would 'indigence' be a reasonable alternative to 'penury'?

The words indigence and penury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances. // the indigence of her years as a graduate student

Q: When could 'poverty' be used to replace 'penury'?

In some situations, the words poverty and penury are roughly equivalent. However, poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts. // the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

Q: How are the words 'want' and 'destitution' related as synonyms of 'penury'?

Both want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure. // lived in a perpetual state of want // the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

penury

noun

ˈpen-yə-rē

Definition of penury

as in poverty

the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury

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How is the word penury distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of penury are destitution, indigence, poverty, and want. While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.

a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

Where would indigence be a reasonable alternative to penury?

The words indigence and penury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

the indigence of her years as a graduate student

When could poverty be used to replace penury?

In some situations, the words poverty and penury are roughly equivalent. However, poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

How are the words want and destitution related as synonyms of penury?

Both want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure.

lived in a perpetual state of want

the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

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 penury The Legislature, governor and unions need to respect our labor and not tax us into penury. — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 28 Aug. 2025 To give up their academic positions was to invite another round of penury, this time as men in their fifties. — Literary Hub, 28 May 2025 Knowing that Jane Austen never got her own Pemberley, and seeing the penury and leaking roofs portrayed, are very different things. — Kim Campbell, Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2025 But the mass of the population remained trapped in rural penury or urban favelas, while the fortunate few soared over the country’s ungovernable megacities in private helicopters. — Jonathan Tepperman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015 See All Example Sentences for penury

Recent Examples of Synonyms for penury

Noun

If the main predictor of racial disparities in prison is poverty, then denouncing police and prosecutors as racist won't shrink those gaps.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
The result was 90% of farmers in the country living in poverty with virtually all of them drinking unclean water.

— Adam Duxter, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of poverty

Noun

Waiting for the Jets are the defending AFC champion Patriots and a stadium that has delivered far more misery than milestones.

— Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
With Dunham as creator, showrunner and star, the original series followed a group of friends through the misery and dysfunction of their 20s in New York City.

— Selome Hailu, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of misery

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penuriousness

penury

peon

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“Penury.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penury. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of penury

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