Poor
[pɔː;pʊə] or [pʊr]
Definition
(adj.) unsatisfactory; 'a poor light for reading'; 'poor morale'; 'expectations were poor' .
(adj.) having little money or few possessions; 'deplored the gap between rich and poor countries'; 'the proverbial poor artist living in a garret' .
(adj.) lacking in specific resources, qualities or substances; 'a poor land'; 'the area was poor in timber and coal'; 'food poor in nutritive value' .
(adj.) characterized by or indicating poverty; 'the country had a poor economy'; 'they lived in the poor section of town' .
Typed by Leona--From WordNet
Definition
(superl.) Destitute of property; wanting in material riches or goods; needy; indigent.
(superl.) So completely destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public.
(superl.) Destitute of such qualities as are desirable, or might naturally be expected
(superl.) Wanting in fat, plumpness, or fleshiness; lean; emaciated; meager; as, a poor horse, ox, dog, etc.
(superl.) Wanting in strength or vigor; feeble; dejected; as, poor health; poor spirits.
(superl.) Of little value or worth; not good; inferior; shabby; mean; as, poor clothes; poor lodgings.
(superl.) Destitute of fertility; exhausted; barren; sterile; -- said of land; as, poor soil.
(superl.) Destitute of beauty, fitness, or merit; as, a poor discourse; a poor picture.
(superl.) Without prosperous conditions or good results; unfavorable; unfortunate; unconformable; as, a poor business; the sick man had a poor night.
(superl.) Inadequate; insufficient; insignificant; as, a poor excuse.
(superl.) Worthy of pity or sympathy; -- used also sometimes as a term of endearment, or as an expression of modesty, and sometimes as a word of contempt.
(superl.) Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek.
(n.) A small European codfish (Gadus minutus); -- called also power cod.
Typed by Edmund
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Indigent, needy, destitute, necessitous, pinched, distressed, penniless, moneyless, IMPECUNIOUS, seedy, reduced, short of money, out of money, without a penny, out of pocket, out of cash, out at the elbows, out at the heels, in need, in want, hard up, in distress, living from hand to mouth, not worth a farthing, not worth a sou, not rich.[2]. Emaciated, lean, thin, meagre, lank, gaunt, skinny, shrunk, fallen away.[3]. Barren, sterile, unfruitful, unfertile, unproductive, fruitless, unprolific.[4]. Trifling, trivial, slight, small, slender, flimsy, insufficient, inadequate, worthless, unimportant, of little use or worth.[5]. Contemptible, despicable, paltry, mean, sorry, beggarly, pitiful, shabby, bad, low.[6]. Feeble, languid, weak, bald, tame, jejune, vapid, cold, frigid, dull, prosing, prosy, prosaic, spiritless.[7]. Miserable, wretched, unfortunate, luckless, ill-fated, ill-starred, unlucky, unhappy.
n. pl. [With The prefixed.] Paupers, indigent people.
Edited by Leah
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Indigent, moneyless, impecunious, penniless, weak, meagre, insufficient,deficient, faulty, unsatisfactory, inconsiderable, thin, scanty, bald
ANT:Rich, wealthy, copious, affluent, abundant, liberal, large, ample, moneyed,sufficient, satisfactory, considerable
Edited by Beverly
Definition
adj. having little or nothing: without means: needy: spiritless: depressed: (B.) humble: contrite: wanting in appearance: lean: wanting in strength: weak: wanting in value: inferior: wanting in fertility: sterile: wanting in fitness beauty or dignity: trifling: paltry: dear (endearingly).—ns. Poor′house a house established at the public expense for sheltering the poor: an almshouse; Poor′john (Shak.) a coarse kind of fish the hake when salted.—n.pl. Poor′-laws laws providing for the support of the poor.—adv. Poor′ly.—ns. Poor′ness; Poor′-rate a rate or tax for the support of the poor; Poor′-Rob′in an almanac; Poor's′-box a box for receiving contributions to the poor.—adj. Poor′-spir′ited cowardly: mean.—ns. Poor′-spir′itedness cowardice; Poor's′-roll (Scots law) the list of poor persons who are litigants but unable to pay the expenses of litigation and therefore are allowed to sue in form?pauperis.—Poor man of mutton (Scot.) cold mutton broiled esp. the shoulder; Poor man's herb the hedge-hyssop; Poor Will a common American bird of the genus Phal鎛optilus.—The poor poor people collectively: those depending on public or private charity.
Typist: Ted
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream that you, or any of your friends, appear to be poor, is significant of worry and losses. See Pauper.
Editor: Wendell
Examples
- Then, collecting himself, he added in his usual tone, And what may it be your pleasure to want at so early an hour with the poor Jew? Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- We should be rich men if we had 1000 pounds for every poor devil who has been done to death in that den. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- The poor bent, enfeebled creature struck his imagination. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Poor Oliver tried to keep up with the coach a little way, but was unable to do it, by reason of his fatigue and sore feet. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- I wish to leave the poor girls some little independence, as well as a good name. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I ran back for a light and there was the poor fellow, a great gash in his throat and the whole place swimming in blood. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Poor Rosamond's vagrant fancy had come back terribly scourged--meek enough to nestle under the old despised shelter. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Oh, my poor health! Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- I'm a poor black feckless sheep--childer may clem for aught I can do, unless, parson, yo'd help me? Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- There was no Adrian to superintend and direct, while whole flocks of the poor were struck and killed. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- But some of the poorer free citizens followed mechanic arts, and, as we have already noted, would even pull an oar in a galley for pay. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- In Roman catholic countries, the spirit of devotion is supported altogether by the monks, and by the poorer parochial clergy. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- They even profit by his underselling the poorer workmen who deal in the same way with him. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- And it was chiefly the poorer citizens of Athens who sustained this empire by their most vigorous and incessant personal service. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The rich grew richer and the poor poorer. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- I wished him good night, and walked out of the shop the richer by that sum, and the poorer by a waistcoat. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- I was sorry; I loved the child, and her loss made me poorer than before. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Not only was Miss Ainley poorer, but she was even plainer than the other old maid. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- My dear made the best of housekeepers and tried hard to save, but I knew that they were getting poorer and poorer every day. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- In Ireland, the inferior ranks of people are still poorer than in Scotland, and many parts of the country are almost as thinly inhabited. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Science was valid, art was valid, the poorest grubber in a laboratory was engaged in a real labor, anyone who had found expression in some beautiful object was truly centered. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- She would nurse the poorest whom none else would nurse. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- We should in the present times consider this as a very high price for a pair of stockings to a servant of the poorest and lowest order. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The suffragist who bases a claim on the so-called logic of democracy is making the poorest possible showing for a good cause. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Again the shrewd comment: Generally poorest district for light, best for power, thus evening up whole city--the effect of this on investment. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- But the ruling class do not want remedies; they care only for money, and are as careless of virtue as the poorest of the citizens. Plato. The Republic.
- It was plain that if he were not grateful, he must be the poorest-spirited rascal who had ever found a generous friend. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The poorest creditable person, of either sex, would be ashamed to appear in public without them. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- A view of life in which man obediently allows himself to be made grist for somebody else's mill is the poorest kind of preparation for the work of self-government. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Among savages, the poorest of all nations, they are scarce of any value. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
Typed by Carla