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poor
(redirected from as poor as church mice)

   Also found in: Idioms, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
poor  (pr)
adj. poor·er, poor·est
1. Having little or no wealth and few or no possessions.
2. Lacking in a specified resource or quality: an area poor in timber and coal; a diet poor in calcium.
3. Not adequate in quality; inferior: a poor performance.
4.
a. Lacking in value; insufficient: poor wages.
b. Lacking in quantity: poor attendance.
5. Lacking fertility: poor soil.
6. Undernourished; lean.
7. Humble: a poor spirit.
8. Eliciting or deserving pity; pitiable: couldn't rescue the poor fellow.
n. (used with a pl. verb)
People with little or no wealth and possessions considered as a group: The urban poor are in need of homes.

[Middle English poure, from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; see pau-1 in Indo-European roots.]

poorness n.
Synonyms: poor, indigent, needy, impecunious, penniless, impoverished, poverty-stricken, destitute
These adjectives mean lacking the money or the means for an adequate or comfortable life. Poor is the most general: "Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness" (Samuel Johnson).
Indigent and needy refer to one in need or want: indigent people living on the street; distributed food to needy families.
Impecunious and penniless mean having little or no money: "Certainly an impecunious Subaltern was not a catch" (Rudyard Kipling). He made poor investments which left him penniless.
One who is impoverished has been reduced to poverty: an impoverished, third-world country.
Poverty-stricken means suffering from poverty and miserably poor: refugees living in poverty-stricken camps.
Destitute means lacking any means of subsistence: tenants left destitute by the fire.
Usage Note: In informal speech poor is sometimes used as an adverb, as in They never played poorer. In formal usage more poorly would be required in this example.

poor
Adjective
1. having little money and few possessions
2. less than is necessary or expected: it was a poor reward for all his effort
3. (sometimes foll. by in)lacking in (something): a food which is rich in energy but poor in vitamins
4. inferior: poor quality
5. disappointing or disagreeable: a poor play
6. pitiable; unlucky: poor John is ill
7. poor man's (something) a cheaper substitute for (something): pewter, sometimes known as poor man's silver [Latin pauper]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.poor - people without possessions or wealth (considered as a group); "the urban poor need assistance"
plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one
people - (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; "old people"; "there were at least 200 people in the audience"
homeless - poor people who unfortunately do not have a home to live in; "the homeless became a problem in the large cities"
needy - needy people collectively; "they try to help the needy"
rich, rich people - people who have possessions and wealth (considered as a group); "only the very rich benefit from this legislation"
Adj.1.poor - deserving or inciting pity; "a hapless victim"; "miserable victims of war"; "the shabby room struck her as extraordinarily pathetic"- Galsworthy; "piteous appeals for help"; "pitiable homeless children"; "a pitiful fate"; "Oh, you poor thing"; "his poor distorted limbs"; "a wretched life"
unfortunate - not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune; "an unfortunate turn of events"; "an unfortunate decision"; "unfortunate investments"; "an unfortunate night for all concerned"
2.poor - having little money or few possessions; "deplored the gap between rich and poor countries"; "the proverbial poor artist living in a garret"
underprivileged - lacking the rights and advantages of other members of society
rich - possessing material wealth; "her father is extremely rich"; "many fond hopes are pinned on rich uncles"
3.poor - characterized by or indicating poverty; "the country had a poor economy"; "they lived in the poor section of town"
rich - suggestive of or characterized by great expense; "a rich display"
4.poor - lacking in specific resources, qualities or substances; "a poor land"; "the area was poor in timber and coal"; "food poor in nutritive value"
rich - having an abundant supply of desirable qualities or substances (especially natural resources); "blessed with a land rich in minerals"; "rich in ideas"; "rich with cultural interest"
5.poor - not sufficient to meet a need; "an inadequate income"; "a poor salary"; "money is short"; "on short rations"; "food is in short supply"; "short on experience"
insufficient, deficient - of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement; "insufficient funds"
6.poor - unsatisfactory; "a poor light for reading"; "poor morale"; "expectations were poor"
bad - having undesirable or negative qualities; "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very bad"; "the reviews were bad"; "the pay is bad"; "it was a bad light for reading"; "the movie was a bad choice"

poor
adjective 1. impoverished, broke (informal) badly off, hard up (informal) short, in need, needy, on the rocks, penniless, destitute, poverty-stricken, down and out, skint Brit. (slang) in want, indigent, down at heel, impecunious, dirt-poor (informal) on the breadline, flat broke (informal) penurious, on your uppers, stony-broke Brit. (slang) necessitous, in queer street, without two pennies to rub together (informal) on your beam-ends << OPPOSITE rich
adjective 3. inferior, unsatisfactory, mediocre, second-rate, sorry, weak, pants (informal) rotten (informal) faulty, feeble, worthless, shabby, shoddy, low-grade, below par, substandard, low-rent (informal) crappy (slang) valueless, no great shakes (informal) rubbishy, poxy (slang) not much cop Brit. (slang) half-pie N.Z. (informal) bodger or bodgie Austral. (slang) << OPPOSITE excellent
Translations
poor [puəʳ] adjpobre (= bad); malo
npl the poor → los pobres

poor [puəʳ] adjpauvre (= mediocre); médiocre, faible, mauvais(e)
npl the poor → les pauvres mpl

poor [puəʳ] adjarm (= bad); schlecht
npl the poor → die Armen pl;
poor in (resources etc) → arm an +dat;
poor Bob → der arme Bob

poor [puəʳ] adjpovero/a (= mediocre); mediocre, cattivo/a
npl the poor → i poveri

poor
adj poor [puə]
1 having little money or property She is too poor to buy clothes for the children; the poor nations of the world. arm فَقير беден chudý fattig arm φτωχός pobre vaene فقیر köyhä pauvre עָנִי घृणित, तुच्छ siromašan szegény miskin fátækur povero 貧しい 가난한, 빈곤한 neturtingas, vargingas nabadzīgs; trūcīgs miskin arm fattig biedny pobre sărac бедный chudobný reven siromašan fattig ยากจน yoksul, fakir 窮的 бідний, незаможний غريب، نادار nghèo
2 not good; of bad quality His work is very poor; a poor effort. swak رَديء долнокачествен chabý, mizerný dårlig mangelhaft κατώτερος, κακής ποιότητας malo; escaso vilets بد؛ ضعیف kehno médiocre דַל घटिया, निष्कृष्ट traljav gyenge buruk lélegur, lakur mediocre, scarso 下手な 조잡한 menkas, prastas slikts; vājš; nepietiekams teruk pover, slecht dårlig, elendig, skral słaby fraco mediocru плохой; низкого качества chabý, mizerný pičel loš dålig, skral, klen คุณภาพเลว kötü, fena 不好的,劣質的 низький, поганий خراب، خراب قسم کا kém; tồi 不好
3 deserving pity Poor fellow! arme بائِس، مَسْكين беден ubohý stakkels arm κακόμοιρος, ταλαίπωρος pobre vaene بیچاره raukka pauvre מִסכֵּן योग्य करूणामय jadan szerencsétlen (alak) malang aumingja povero かわいそうな 불쌍한 vargšas nelaimīgs, nabaga- malang arm stakkars biedny coitado sărman несчастный úbohý ubog jadan stackars น่าสงสาร zavallı, biçare 可憐的 нещасний بےچارہ đáng thương 怜的
n poorness
armheid بُؤْس ، فَقْر бедност chudoba fattigdom die Armut φτώχεια pobreza vaesus فقر؛ بدی köyhyys pauvreté עוֹנִי निकृष्टता, अपकृष्टता, विगुणता, त्रुटि, कमी, खोट, कसर, ख़ामी oskudica,siromaština szegény(es)ség kemiskinan fátækt povertà 貧しさ 가난함 skurdumas nabadzība; trūcīgums; nepietiekamība kemiskinan slechte kwaliteit fattigdom bieda pobreza sărăcie бедность; неудовлетворительность chudoba revščina siromaštvo dålig beskaffenhet ความยากจน yoksulluk 貧窮 бідність; убогість غربت tình trạng thiếu thốn
adv poorly
not well; badly a poorly written essay. swak بِرداءَه، بصورَةٍ سَيِّئَه лошо uboze dårligt dürftig άσχημα mal halvasti بد؛ بطور بد kurjasti pauvrement דַל, גַרוּע जैसे-तैसे, किसी तरह से, ज्यों-त्यों siromašan rosszul jelek illa, lélega male 下手に 서투르게 prastai, menkai slikti; vāji; nepietiekami dgn teruk slecht dårlig słabo mal prost плохо úboho revno jadno dåligt, illa อย่างเลว kötü/fena bir şekilde 貧窮地,拙劣地 бідно, убого ناقص طور پر tồi
adj
ill He is very poorly. siek مَريض болен nemocný syg kränklich άρρωστος pachucho, malo, indispuesto haige بیمار sairas malade חָש לא טוֹב अस्वस्थ prilično se loše osjeća rosszul érzi magát sakit lasinn cattiva salute in 病気の 아픈, 편찮은 ligotas, nesveikas slims; nevesels sakit ziek dårlig, skral chory doente bolnav нездоровый chorý bolehen loše sjuk สุขภาพแย่ hasta 健康不佳的 хворий, недужий بيمار ốm yếu 健康


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