What does impoverish mean?
Impoverish means to make someone or something poor, deprived, or less richly endowed. Its most common use is for people, families, or communities whose income, access to resources, or economic security has been reduced. The verb can also be applied to places, institutions, landscapes, and cultural life, where it suggests a decline in quality, vitality, or opportunity. In formal writing, “impoverish” often carries a serious social implication: it evokes sustained disadvantage rather than a minor financial loss. The related noun “impoverishment” names the condition or process of becoming poor, while “impoverished” describes someone or something lacking adequate resources. The word derives from a Latin vocabulary associated with pauper, meaning “poor,” and belongs to a family of English terms including poverty and pauper.
To make someone poor or economically disadvantaged, especially by reducing their income or access to resources.
"The policy impoverished many small businesses."
The word is stronger and more formal than “make poorer” and commonly describes a serious or persistent reduction in well-being.
To deprive something of the quality, resources, or vitality needed to make it rich or successful.
"Decades of neglect impoverished the town’s cultural life."
The word has a dramatic double life: it describes both becoming poor and making someone else poor.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does impoverish come from?
The verb comes from the LatinVerb impoverishare, meaning “to make poor,” which was based on pauper, the Latin word for “poor.” English borrowed the word in the early 16th century, when poverty and its social consequences were increasingly discussed in religious and political writing. Its later figurative sense, meaning to strip something of richness or resources, developed from the literal economic meaning.
Related word forms
How impoverish is actually used
The verb is often used with people, communities, or regions in the first sense, and with places, institutions, landscapes, or experiences in figurative and literary uses. It is generally more forceful than “make poorer” and can imply a serious or persistent loss of resources.