poorness
State of need
Poorness is the quality of being poor—whether in resources, quality, or condition.
It describes inadequacy or deficiency: the poorness of the soil, the poorness of his excuses.
While poverty specifically means lack of money, poorness applies more broadly to anything falling short of a standard: The poorness of the recording made it hard to hear.
Extreme poverty, lacking necessities
- indigenceExtreme poverty, total want
- penuryExtreme lack of money
- insolvencyInability to pay debts
- bankruptcyLegal status when insolvent
debt · hardship · privation · homelessness · neediness · beggary · pauper · mendicant
Not sufficient for purpose
- insufficientBelow required quantity
- lackingBeing without something
- sparseThinly scattered or distributed
- limitedRestricted in extent
meager · scarce · paltry · shortage · scant · skimpy · deficit · dearth
Below required quality
- inferiorOf lower rank
- shoddyOf poor craftsmanship
- flimsyWeak and easily damaged
- mediocreOf only moderate quality
subpar · low-grade · cheap · shabby · second-rate · defective · faulty · crude
Unable to produce offspring
- unproductiveFailing to achieve results
- sterileFree from microorganisms
- barrenUnable to produce
- aridDevoid of water
depleted · exhausted · fruitless · unyielding · fallow · parched · unfertile · unfruitful
Economical resource management
- simplicityLack of complexity
- sparenessAbsence of excess
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
- thriftCareful use of resources
economy · parsimony · modesty · plainness · asceticism · self-denial · restraint · bare-bones
destitution
Extreme poverty, lacking necessities
- indigenceExtreme poverty, total want
- penuryExtreme lack of money
- insolvencyInability to pay debts
bankruptcy · debt · hardship · privation · homelessness · neediness · beggary · pauper · mendicant · indebtedness
inadequate
Not sufficient for purpose
- insufficientBelow required quantity
- lackingBeing without something
- sparseThinly scattered or distributed
limited · meager · scarce · paltry · shortage · scant · skimpy · deficit · dearth · paucity
substandard
Below required quality
mediocre · subpar · low-grade · cheap · shabby · second-rate · defective · faulty · crude · unrefined
infertile
Unable to produce offspring
- unproductiveFailing to achieve results
- sterileFree from microorganisms
- barrenUnable to produce
arid · depleted · exhausted · fruitless · unyielding · fallow · parched · unfertile · unfruitful · spent
frugality
Economical resource management
- simplicityLack of complexity
- sparenessAbsence of excess
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
thrift · economy · parsimony · modesty · plainness · asceticism · self-denial · restraint · bare-bones · starkness
poornesswealth
Abundance of valuable resources
richness · affluence · prosperity · wealthiness · opulence
poornessexcellence
Outstanding quality or merit
quality · richness · superiority · fineness · goodness
poor, poverty, poorest, poorer, impoverished, impoverish, impoverishment, pauperism, impoverishing