poor (redirected from poorest)

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.

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

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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.

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poor [pʊə pɔː]

adj

1.

a.  lacking financial or other means of subsistence; needy

b.  (as collective noun; preceded by the) the poor

2. characterized by or indicating poverty the country had a poor economy

3. deficient in amount; scanty or inadequate a poor salary

4. (when postpositive, usually foll by in) badly supplied (with resources, materials, etc.) a region poor in wild flowers

5. lacking in quality; inferior

6. giving no pleasure; disappointing or disagreeable a poor play

7. (prenominal) deserving of pity; unlucky poor John is ill again

poor man's (something) a (cheaper) substitute for (something)

[from Old French povre, from Latin pauper; see pauper, poverty]

poorness  n

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poor

• cacography - Bad handwriting or poor spelling.
• illegible, unreadable - Illegible refers to bad handwriting, while unreadable refers to poor writing.
• heterography, inorthography - Incorrect or poor spelling is heterography or inorthography.
• penurious - A synonym for "poor, in need."

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	poor - people without possessions or wealth (considered as a group); "the urban poor need assistance" poor people 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" misfortunate, pathetic, piteous, hapless, miserable, pitiable, pitiful, wretched 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" inadequate, short 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"

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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 He was one of thirteen children from a poor family.
impoverished rich, wealthy, prosperous, affluent, well-off, comfortable (informal), well-heeled (informal)

2. unfortunate, pathetic, miserable, unlucky, hapless, pitiful, luckless, wretched, ill-starred, pitiable, ill-fated I feel sorry for that poor child.
unfortunate successful, lucky, fortunate

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), piss-poor (slang), chickenshit (U.S. slang), not much cop (Brit. slang), half-pie (N.Z. informal) The wine is very poor. He was a poor actor.
inferior excellent, valuable, superior, first-class, exceptional, satisfactory, first-rate

4. meagre, inadequate, insufficient, reduced, lacking, slight, miserable, pathetic, incomplete, scant, sparse, deficient, skimpy, measly, scanty, pitiable, niggardly, straitened, exiguous poor wages and terrible working conditions A poor crop has sent vegetable prices spiralling.
meagre complete, thick, sufficient, adequate, satisfactory, dense, ample, abundant, plentiful

5. unproductive, barren, fruitless, bad, bare, exhausted, depleted, impoverished, sterile, infertile, unfruitful Mix in some planting compost to improve poor soil when you dig.
unproductive yielding, productive, fertile, fruitful, teeming

Quotations
"The poor man is happy; he expects no change for the worse" [Demetrius]
"The poor always ye have with you" Bible: St. John
"Poor and content is rich and rich enough" [William Shakespeare Othello]

Translations

poor [pʊəʳ]

A. ADJ (poorer (compar) (poorest (superl)))

1. (= not rich) [person, family, country] → pobre
a poor woman → una mujer pobre
a poor man → un pobre
poor people → gente f pobre, personas fpl pobres
pewter was the poor man's silver → el peltre era la plata de los pobres
they thought that cinema was a or the poor relation of theatre → pensaban que el cine era el pariente pobre del teatro
to be the poorer (for sth) the nation is the poorer for her death → la nación ha sufrido una gran pérdida con su muerte
it left me £5 the poorer → me dejó con 5 libras de menos
to be as poor as a church mouse → ser más pobre que las ratas

2. (= inferior, bad) [goods, service] → malo, de mala calidad
the wine was poor → el vino era malo or de mala calidad
Britain's poor economic performance → el bajo rendimiento económico obtenido por Gran Bretaña
she has a very poor attendance record → su expediente es muy malo en lo que a asistencia se refiere
they had made a poor job of it → habían hecho una chapuza
to be a poor imitation of sth → ser una burda or pobre imitación de algo
his decision shows poor judgment → su decisión denota poco juicio
to have a poor opinion of sb → tener un concepto poco favorable de algn
to come a poor second (to sth/sb) he came a poor second in the final race → quedó el segundo en la carrera final, a bastante distancia del primero
his family comes a poor second to his career → su familia queda relegada a segundo lugar tras su carrera

3. (= deficient) [memory] → malo; [soil] → pobre, estéril; [harvest] → pobre, escaso
I had a poor education → la educación que recibí no fue muy buena
many people eat a poor diet → mucha gente tiene una dieta pobre
"poor" (Scol) (as mark) → deficiente
soils that are poor in zinc → suelos que son pobres en zinc or que tienen bajo contenido en zinc

4. (= untalented) he was a poor actor → era un actor flojo
I'm a poor traveller → lo de viajar no lo llevo muy bien
she was a very poor swimmer → no era buena nadadora
to be poor at maths → no ser muy bueno en matemáticas
we are poor at marketing ourselves → no somos muy buenos a la hora de darnos publicidad

5. (= unfortunate) → pobre
the poor child was hungry → el pobre niño tenía hambre
poor little thing! → ¡pobrecito!, ¡pobre criaturita!
poor (old) you!; you poor (old) thing! → ¡pobrecito!
poor Mary's lost all her money → la pobre María ha perdido todo su dinero
he's very ill, poor chap → está grave el pobre
a poor little rich girl → una pobre niña rica
see also devil A2

B. NPL
the poor → los pobres
the rural/urban poor → los pobres de las zonas rurales/urbanas

C. CPD poor box N → cepillo m de las limosnas
poor law N (Hist) → ley f de asistencia pública
poor white N (US) persona pobre de raza blanca
see also relief A4

POOR



Position of "pobre"
You should generally put pobre after the noun when you mean poor in the sense of "not rich" and before the noun in the sense of "unfortunate": It's a poor area Es una región pobre The poor boy was trembling El pobre chico estaba temblando

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poor [ˈpʊə^r ˈpɔː^r]

adj

[person] (financially) → pauvre; [area, country] → pauvre
a poor family → une famille pauvre

to be poor in sth (= lacking) [+ resources, vitamins] → être pauvre en qch

[person] (= unfortunate) → pauvre
Poor David, he's very unlucky! → Pauvre David, il n'a vraiment pas de chance!
poor old ... → pauvre ...

(= bad) (gen) → médiocre; [sight] → faible
a poor mark → une note médiocre
a poor cook
BUT un* piètre cuisinier*.(e)/ère
poor wages and working conditions → des salaires bas et des conditions de travail médiocres
to be poor at doing sth [person] → ne pas être doué(e) pour faire qch
Hospitals are poor at collecting information
BUT Les hôpitaux ne savent pas collecter l'information comme il se doit.
They are very poor at keeping their customers informed of delays
BUT Ils n'informent que très rarement leurs clients des retards.

[attendance, turnout]
Attendance at the meetings has been very poor → Très peu de gens ont assisté aux réunions.
There was a poor turnout at the election → Il y a eu un fort taux d'abstention aux élections., Peu d'électeurs se sont déplacés.

npl
the poor → les pauvres mpl

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poor

adj (+er)

→ arm; to get or become poorer → ärmer werden, verarmen; he was now one thousand pounds (the) poorer → er war nun um eintausend Pfund ärmer; a poor little rich girl → ein armes reiches Mädchen; poor whites arme weiße Bevölkerung im Süden der USA; a country poor in natural resources → ein an Bodenschätzen armes Land; to be poor in nutrients → arm an Nährstoffen sein; it’s the poor man’s Mercedes/Monte Carlo (inf) → das ist der Mercedes/das Monte Carlo des kleinen Mannes (inf); poor relation (fig) → Sorgenkind nt

(= not good) → schlecht; (= meagre) → mangelhaft; health, effort, performance, excuse → schlecht, schwach; sense of responsibility, leadership → schwach; soil → mager, schlecht; quality → schlecht, minderwertig; a poor joke (= weak) → ein schwacher Witz; (= in bad taste) → ein geschmackloser Witz; to show somebody/something in a poor light → jdn/etw in einem schlechten Licht darstellen; to get or become poorer (eyesight, hearing, weather) → schlechter werden, sich verschlechtern; she was a very poor swimmer → sie war ein sehr schlechter Schwimmer; he is a poor traveller/flier → er verträgt Reisen/Flugreisen nicht gut; a poor friend you are! → du bist mir ein schöner Freund!; fruit wines are a poor substitute for grape wine → Obstwein ist nur ein armseliger Ersatz für Wein aus Trauben; a poor imitation of something → eine schlechte or minderwertige Nachahmung von etw; a poor chance of success → schlechte Erfolgsaussichten pl; we had a poor time of it last night → gestern Abend lief auch alles schief (inf); only £55? that’s pretty poor, isn’t it? → nur £ 55? das ist aber ziemlich wenig!; that’s poor consolation → das ist ein schwacher Trost; it’s a poor thing for Britain if … → es ist schlecht für Großbritannien, wenn …; it will be a poor day for the world when … → es wird ein schwarzer Tag für die Welt sein, wenn …; this is a pretty poor state of affairs → das sieht aber gar nicht gut aus; it’s very poor of them not to have replied → es ist sehr unhöflich, dass sie uns etc (dat) → nicht geantwortet haben; he has a very poor grasp of the subject → er beherrscht das Fach sehr schlecht; he showed a poor grasp of the facts → er zeigte wenig Verständnis für die Fakten; he is a poor hand at public speaking → in der Öffentlichkeit zu sprechen liegt ihm nicht; she was always poor at languages → sie war immer schlecht or schwach in Sprachen; hospitals are poor at collecting information → Krankenhäuser sind schlecht im Sammeln von Informationen

(= pitiful, pitiable) → arm; you poor (old) chap (inf) → du armer Kerl (inf); poor you! → du Ärmste(r)!; she’s all alone, poor woman → sie ist ganz allein, die arme Frau; poor things, they look cold → die Ärmsten, ihnen scheint kalt zu sein; poor miserable creature that he is … → armseliger Kerl or Tropf (inf), → der er ist …; in my poor opinion (iro) → meiner bescheidenen or unmaßgeblichen Meinung nach (iro); it fell to my poor self to … → es blieb meiner Wenigkeit (dat) → überlassen, zu … (iro)

pl the poor → die Armen pl

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poor:

poor box

n → Armen- or Almosenbüchse f

poorhouse

n (old) → Armenhaus nt (old)

poor laws

pl → Armengesetze pl

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poor [pʊəʳ]

1. adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl))) (gen) → povero/a; (crop, light, visibility) → scarso/a; (effort, excuse) → misero/a; (memory, health, quality) → cattivo/a
he's a poor loser → non sa perdere
I'm a poor traveller → sopporto male i viaggi
it has a poor chance of success → ha scarse possibilità di successo
it's a poor thing when ... → è deplorevole che... + sub
to be poor at maths → essere debole in matematica
as poor as a church mouse → povero/a in canna
you poor thing! → poverino!
you poor fool! → povero scemo!

2. the poor npl → i poveri

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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 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 穷的

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 heikkolaatuinen médiocre דַל घटिया, निष्कृष्ट traljav gyenge buruk lélegur, lakur mediocre, scarso 下手な 저질의 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 不好的，劣质的

3 deserving pity Poor fellow! arme بائِس، مَسْكين беден ubohý stakkels arm κακόμοιρος, ταλαίπωρος pobre vaene بیچاره parka 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 可怜的

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 贫穷

adv poorly

not well; badly a poorly written essay. swak بِرداءَه، بصورَةٍ سَيِّئَه лошо uboze dårligt dürftig άσχημα mal halvasti بد؛ بطور بد huonosti pauvrement דַל, גַרוּע जैसे-तैसे, किसी तरह से, ज्यों-त्यों siromašan rosszul jelek illa, lélega male 下手に 나쁘게 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 贫穷地，拙劣地

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 in cattiva salute 病気の 병든 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 健康不佳的

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poor → فقير chudý fattig arm φτωχός pobre köyhä pauvre siromašan povero 貧しい 가난한 arm fattig biedny pobre бедный fattig ยากจน yoksul nghèo 贫穷的