penuries
States of destitution
Penuries is the plural of penury, meaning states of extreme poverty or destitution.
The word is formal and literary, appearing more often in historical or religious contexts than in everyday speech: The penuries of the Great Depression shaped a generation.
Each instance of severe want or privation counts as a penury.
Extreme poverty, total want
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- impoverishmentState of extreme deprivation
- pauperismCondition of being destitute
- beggaryExtreme, abject poverty
want · impecuniosity · pennilessness · neediness · privation · squalor · homelessness · insolvency
Severe food shortage
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- malnutritionDisease from dietary inadequacy
- undernourishmentInsufficient dietary intake
- hungerNeed for nourishment
want · privation · absence · void · emptiness · doing without · loss · dispossession
Deficient supply of necessities
- dearthAcute shortage of something
- paucityInsufficiency of amount
- insufficiencyShortfall in amount needed
- deficitAmount still owed
lack · unavailability · inadequacy · meagerness · sparsity · undersupply · exiguity · leanness
Economical resource management
- thriftCareful use of resources
- economySystem of trade and production
- budgetingAllocating funds systematically
- belt-tighteningReducing expenditures deliberately
cutbacks · savings · restraint · self-denial · abstinence · simplicity · minimalism · prudence
indigence
Extreme poverty, total want
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- impoverishmentState of extreme deprivation
- pauperismCondition of being destitute
beggary · want · impecuniosity · pennilessness · neediness · privation · squalor · homelessness · insolvency · bankruptcy
famine
Severe food shortage
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- malnutritionDisease from dietary inadequacy
- undernourishmentInsufficient dietary intake
hunger · want · privation · absence · void · emptiness · doing without · loss · dispossession · denial
shortage
Deficient supply of necessities
- dearthAcute shortage of something
- paucityInsufficiency of amount
- insufficiencyShortfall in amount needed
deficit · lack · unavailability · inadequacy · meagerness · sparsity · undersupply · exiguity · leanness · bareness
frugality
Economical resource management
- thriftCareful use of resources
- economySystem of trade and production
- budgetingAllocating funds systematically
belt-tightening · cutbacks · savings · restraint · self-denial · abstinence · simplicity · minimalism · prudence · conservation