pauperism

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˈpɔpərɪzəm/ UK /ˈpɔːpərɪzəm/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the state of being extremely poor, especially as a widespread condition

Victorian reformers debated the causes of urban pauperism.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of being... poverty destitution indigence penury beggary

Opposites

affluence wealth prosperity

Word family

Related forms pauperpauperizepauperization

Etymology

From pauper + the suffix -ism. Pauper is borrowed from Latin pauper ('poor').

pauper Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# pauperism

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɔpərɪzəm/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɔːpərɪzəm/

## Meanings
1. the state of being extremely poor, especially as a widespread condition

## Examples
- Victorian reformers debated the causes of urban pauperism.

## Synonyms
- poverty
- destitution
- indigence
- penury
- beggary

## Antonyms
- affluence
- wealth
- prosperity

## Related Forms
- pauper
- pauperize
- pauperization

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pauper

## Etymology
From pauper + the suffix -ism. Pauper is borrowed from Latin pauper ('poor').

## AI Etymology
Pauperism is from pauper + the suffix -ism. Pauper is borrowed from Latin pauper ('poor'). Important recorded forms include pauper (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers the state of being extremely poor, especially as a widespread condition. The wider family includes related words such as pauper, pauperize, and pauperization.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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