impoverish

Synonym Chooser

How is the word impoverish distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of impoverish are bankrupt, deplete, drain, and exhaust. While all these words mean "to deprive of something essential to existence or potency," impoverish suggests a deprivation of something essential to richness or productiveness.

impoverished soil

When would bankrupt be a good substitute for impoverish?

In some situations, the words bankrupt and impoverish are roughly equivalent. However, bankrupt suggests impoverishment to the point of imminent collapse.

war had bankrupted the nation of resources

When might deplete be a better fit than impoverish?

The meanings of deplete and impoverish largely overlap; however, deplete implies a reduction in number or quantity so as to endanger the ability to function.

depleting our natural resources

When can drain be used instead of impoverish?

While in some cases nearly identical to impoverish, drain implies a gradual withdrawal and ultimate deprivation of what is necessary to an existence.

personal tragedy had drained him of all spirit

In what contexts can exhaust take the place of impoverish?

The words exhaust and impoverish are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, exhaust stresses a complete emptying.

her lecture exhausted the subject

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impoverish But were you really impoverished by buying from Costco? Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025 Republicans have floated industry-destroying ideas like taxing college and university scholarships as income, which would instantaneously blow up thousands of budgets in higher education and impoverish millions of students. Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025 With a not insubstantial piece of Mexico’s economy reliant on production stateside, a cessation of those inflows will logically impoverish a big number of those formerly sustained directly by remittances. John Tamny, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025 That a short-term judgment about what the market will bear can choke off a literary legacy and, to some extent, impoverish a culture. Mark Athitakis, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for impoverish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impoverish
Verb
  • The basalt is a stand-in for both early Earth and soil that has been depleted by factors such as years of growing a single crop.
    Alina Hartounian, NPR, 7 July 2025
  • He then was cut following his third training camp with the team, joined the New York Giants’ practice squad before being called back to Carolina after starting injuries temporarily depleted the 2024 team.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2025
Verb
  • However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.
    Olivia Lloyd July 9, Miami Herald, 9 July 2025
  • Sophisticated travelers can savor world-class dining, from rich Hakata ramen to the most delicious gyoza, or explore modern art, castle ruins, and shops run by local artisans.
    Mark Lakin, Travel + Leisure, 9 July 2025
Verb
  • For most people, garlic supplements or garlic pills are a safe and convenient way to consume garlic when taken in the amounts directed.
    Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 14 July 2025
  • The civil penalties can consume the entire balance of an account, so be careful.
    Robert W. Wood, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • Similar civil lawsuits against white supremacist and far-right groups have been successful in the past, in some cases bankrupting them with steep financial penalties.
    Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
  • That has been exacerbated by the attacks from the right on the signature piece of Trump’s legislation, a tax and spending package that figures like Elon Musk have argued would bankrupt the federal government.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 12 June 2025
Verb
  • While others exhaust themselves and their budgets staying open for ghosts and insomniacs, smart operators perfect their performance when the audience is there.
    Elie Y. Katz, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
  • According to a report released by Social Security trustees last month, once the trust fund is exhausted, payroll taxes would only be sufficient to cover about 77 percent of scheduled benefits.
    Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Verb
  • This, together with a higher standard deduction, reduced the number of taxpayers who itemize deductions.
    Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
  • Choose looser fits that reduce the pressure on your hair follicles.
    Mark Gurarie, Health, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • The squad have spent the past week in nearby New York City, holed up in a hotel on affluent Fifth Avenue but occasionally allowed out to explore Manhattan between training sessions.
    Oliver Kay, New York Times, 12 July 2025
  • On July 12, 2015, Tiffany spent the day with her family.
    Alex Gurley, People.com, 12 July 2025
Verb
  • By such maxims as these, however, nations have been taught that their interest consisted in beggaring all their neighbours.
    Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
  • The fact that not a single senior party official numbered among her copious conspirators beggars credulity.
    Charlie Campbell, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Impoverish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impoverish. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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