penury

  • 1Penury — Pen u*ry, n. [L. penuria; cf. Gr. ? hunger, ? poverty, need, ? one who works for his daily bread, a poor man, ? to work for one s daily bread, to be poor: cf. F. p[ e]nurie.] 1. Absence of resources; want; privation; indigence; extreme poverty;… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2penury — index bankruptcy, dearth, deficiency, indigence, need (deprivation), poverty, privation Burton s Legal Thesa …

    Law dictionary

  • 3penury — early 15c., from M.Fr. pénurie, from L. penuria want, need, related to paene scarcely …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 4penury — *poverty, indigence, want, destitution, privation Analogous words: *need, necessity, exigency: pinch, strait, pass, *juncture Antonyms: luxury …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 5penury — ► NOUN ▪ extreme poverty. ORIGIN Latin penuria …

    English terms dictionary

  • 6penury — [pen′yo͞o rē, pen′yərē] n. [ME pennury < L penuria, want, scarcity < paene, scarcely: see PASSION] lack of money, property, or necessities; extreme poverty; destitution SYN. POVERTY …

    English World dictionary

  • 7penury — [[t]pe̱njʊri[/t]] N UNCOUNT Penury is the state of being extremely poor. [FORMAL] He was brought up in penury, without education …

    English dictionary

  • 8penury — [ penjʊrɪ] to commit penury …

    Combinatory dictionary

  • 9penury — pen|u|ry [ˈpenjuri] n [U] [Date: 1400 1500; : Latin; Origin: penuria] formal the state of being very poor = ↑poverty ▪ He died in penury in 1644. >penurious [pıˈnjuəriəs US ˈnur ] adj …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 10penury — noun (U) formal the state of being very poor; poverty: families living in penury …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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