Poor — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Poor (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. lacking money or material possessions

   "every year, we make up a basket of food at Thanksgiving for a poor family in the neighborhood"

   similar: beggared, beggarly, broke, destitute, dirt-poor, down-and-out, famished, hard up, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, necessitous, needful, needy, pauperized, penniless, penurious, poverty-stricken, skint (chiefly British), threadbare, down on one's luck, out at elbows, out of pocket
   related: deprived, disadvantaged, dispossessed, unaffluent, underprivileged, bankrupt, bankrupted, bust, insolvent, possessionless, ruined, depressed, distressed, hand-to-mouth, hardscrabble, pinched, poorish, reduced, straitened, cash-strapped, low, short, tapped out
   opposite: affluent, deep-pocketed, fat, fat-cat, flush, moneyed, opulent, rich, silk-stocking, wealthy, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do
   near: comfortable, prosperous

2. producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation

   "land that is too poor for farming"

   similar: barren, bony, dead, desolate, hardscrabble, impoverished, infertile, stark, unfertile, unproductive, waste
   related: bleak, inhospitable, lifeless, uncultivable, untillable, bankrupted, consumed, debilitated, depleted, diminished, drained, dried-up, enfeebled, exhausted, expended, lessened, reduced, spent, used up, arid, desert, droughty, dry, rainless, sere, thirsty, waterless, baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbaked
   opposite: fertile, fruitful, lush, luxuriant, productive, rich
   near: arable, tillable, green, sylvan, verdant

3. less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable

   "a poor crop because of the drought this year"

   similar: exiguous, hand-to-mouth, light, meager, scant, scanty, scarce, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparing, sparse, stingy, thin on the ground
   related: deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, short, wanting, bare, bare-bones, least, littlest, lowest, mere, minimal, slightest, slight, small, thin, barren, infertile, sterile, unfruitful, unproductive
   opposite: abundant, ample, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful
   near: adequate, enough, satisfactory, sufficient, tolerable, fat, fecund, fertile, fruitful, prolific, rich, lavish, luxuriant, blooming, bursting, flourishing, proliferative, swarming, teeming, thriving, excess, extra, surplus

4. falling short of a standard

   "a pretty poor musician, even for a garage band"

   similar: bad, bastard, bush, bush-league, crummy, deficient, dissatisfactory, ill, inferior, lame, lousy, off, paltry, punk, sour, suboptimal, subpar, substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wack (slang), wanting, wretched, wrong, below par, from hunger
   related: abysmal, atrocious, awful, bitchin' (slang), brutal, damnable, deplorable, detestable, disastrous, dreadful, execrable, gnarly (slang), horrendous, horrible, pathetic, stinky, sucky (slang), terrible, unspeakable, defective, faulty, flawed, egregious, flagrant, gross, bum, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy (slang), cut-rate, junky, lesser, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, reprehensible, rotten, rubbishy, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, trashy, abominable, odious, vile, useless, valueless, worthless, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, meager, mean, miserly, scanty, shabby, short, skimp, skimpy, spare, stingy, miscreant, scurrilous, villainous, counterfeit, fake, phony, sham
   opposite: acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, fine, OK, passable, respectable, satisfactory, standard, tolerable
   near: classic, classical, A1, bang-up, banner, boss (slang), capital, choice, crackerjack, dandy, divine, excellent, fabulous, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-test, jim-dandy, keen, marvelous, mean, neat, nifty, noble, par excellence, perfect, premium, prime, sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch, unsurpassed, wonderful, better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, special, sufficient, average, borderline, fair, mediocre, middling, minimal, so-so, unexceptional, suitable, useful, worthy, gratifying, satisfying

5. of low quality

   "the poor workmanship of the goods from that store"

   similar: bad, bargain-basement, bum, cheap, cheapjack, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy (slang), cut-rate, el cheapo, execrable, gimcrack, inferior, junky, lousy, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, rotten, rubbishy, schlock, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, terrible, trashy, trumpery, wretched
   related: useless, valueless, worthless, indifferent, lackluster, second-class, brummagem, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, kitsch, kitschy, meretricious, ostentatious, showy, splashy, swank, tawdry, seedy, shabby, tacky, counterfeit, fake, phony, sham, supercheap, ultracheap
   opposite: excellent, fine, first-class, first-rate, good, high-grade, superior, top-notch
   near: elegant, handsome, tasteful, handcrafted, polished, refined

6. deserving of one's pity

   "aw, the poor kitten hurt its paw"

   similar: heartbreaking, heartrending, miserable, pathetic, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, rueful, sorry, wretched
   related: deplorable, lamentable, regrettable, emotional, impressive, inspiring, affecting, moving, poignant, stirring, touching, awful, horrible, terrible, distressing, disturbing, upsetting, grievous, mournful, sad, sorrowful, woeful
   near: unimpressive, uninspiring