impoverish
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
From Middle English impoverishen, empoverishen, from Old French empoverir, from em- + povre, from Latin pauper (“poor”) (English poor).
Pronunciation
Verb
impoverish (third-person singular simple present impoverishes, present participle impoverishing, simple past and past participle impoverished)
- (transitive) To make poor.
- (transitive) To weaken in quality; to deprive of some strength or richness.
- 1979 December 22, Nancy Walker, “The Reaffirmation of Life”, in Gay Community News, volume 2, number 22, page 16:
- To many of us, organized religion is obnoxious. Yet if we throw out the sense of peace, order and joy that flows from religious ritual, we impoverish ourselves.
- That exuberant crop quickly impoverishes any fertile soil.
- (intransitive) To become poor.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to make poor
|
to deprive of some strength or richness
|
to become poor
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See also
Further reading
- “impoverish”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “impoverish”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “impoverish”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
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