impoverished

/ɪmˈpɒvərɪʃt/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪmˈpɑːvərɪʃt/ (ame, ipa) · /im-ˈpä-v(ə-)risht/ (ame, mw)

impoverished — adjective

  • impoverishedpositive
  • more impoverishedcomparative
  • most impoverishedsuperlative

1. having little or no money, often because earlier wealth or income has been lost

1.形容詞C1
釋義

having little or no money, often because earlier wealth or income has been lost or stripped away — for example, families left without food after a flood, or a country whose economy has collapsed.

例句

After the factory closed, Sivan's family became impoverished within a year.

become + impoverished for a change of state

The charity sends school supplies to impoverished villages in northern Kenya.

attributive: impoverished + plural noun (villages, families, regions)

同義詞
  • destitute

    stronger; suggests no resources at all, often homeless

  • poverty-stricken

    very close in meaning; slightly more emotional tone

  • needy

    softer; emphasises requiring help rather than the poverty itself

反義詞
  • wealthy

    direct opposite for people or regions

  • affluent

    formal; suggests comfortable wealth

用法筆記

Subject is usually a person, family, community, region, or country. Often appears in journalistic or formal writing about poverty and aid; in everyday speech, Taiwanese learners more often hear 'poor'.

常見錯誤

❌I feel impoverished today because I forgot my wallet.
✅I feel broke today because I forgot my wallet.
💡'impoverished' describes long-term poverty, not a one-day cash shortage.

2. weakened or thinned out, with less variety, richness, or nutrient content than b

2.形容詞C2
釋義

weakened or thinned out, with less variety, richness, or nutrient content than before — used of things like soil that has lost its minerals, a language that has lost vocabulary, or a culture whose richness has faded.

例句

Years of growing only corn left the soil on Gabriela's farm badly impoverished.

common collocation: impoverished soil (lost nutrients)

Zayd argues that modern pop music has become musically impoverished compared to the 1970s.

adverb + impoverished: musically / culturally / intellectually

同義詞
  • depleted

    emphasises a resource being used up; common with soil, supplies

  • diminished

    neutral; about reduction in size or strength, not always quality loss

  • barren

    stronger; usually for land that can no longer produce anything

反義詞
  • enriched

    directly opposite — made better in quality

  • fertile

    for soil specifically

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense never refers to a person's wealth — it describes things losing some quality (soil losing nutrients, music losing variety, ecosystems losing species). Often paired with adverbs like 'culturally', 'musically', 'intellectually', 'genetically'.

常見錯誤

❌Sophia is impoverished in vocabulary.
✅Sophia has a limited vocabulary.' or 'Sophia's writing feels impoverished.
💡apply this sense to the thing (writing, soil, music), not the person.