make poor, pauperize; take away the richness of, exhaust the strength of
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Impoverish Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
(v. t.)
To make poor; to reduce to poverty or indigence; as, misfortune and disease impoverish families.
To make poor; to reduce to poverty or indigence; as, misfortune and disease impoverish families.
(v. t.)
To exhaust the strength, richness, or fertility of; to make sterile; as, to impoverish land.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter. AboutTo exhaust the strength, richness, or fertility of; to make sterile; as, to impoverish land.
impoverish
\im*pov"er*ish\ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. impoverished (?); p. pr. & vb. n. impoverishing.] [of. empovrir; pref. em- (l. in) + povre poor, f. pauvre; cf. of. apovrir, f. appauvrir, where the prefix is a-, l. ad. cf. empoverish, and see poor, and -ish.]
1. to make poor; to reduce to poverty or indigence; as, misfortune and disease impoverish families.
2. to exhaust the strength, richness, or fertility of; to make sterile; as, to impoverish land.
To make indigent or poor.
Verb
1. make poor
(antonym) enrich
(hypernym) deprive
(hyponym) reduce
(derivation) pauperization, pauperisation, impoverishment
2. take away
(synonym) deprive
(hypernym) worsen, decline
(hyponym) disestablish
(derivation) pauperization, pauperisation, impoverishment
