penury C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives US /ˈpɛnjəri/ UK /ˈpɛnjʊri/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun extreme poverty or destitution The artist lived in penury until late in life. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · extreme poverty or destitution destitutionpovertyindigenceprivationwantbeggaryimpoverishment ↔ Opposites wealthaffluenceopulenceabundance Word family Derived forms penurious Related forms penurious Etymology AI details From Latin penuria ('want, scarcity, need'), of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps related to paene ('almost'). penuria Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # penury **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈpɛnjəri/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈpɛnjʊri/ ## Meanings 1. extreme poverty or destitution ## Examples - The artist lived in penury until late in life. ## Synonyms - destitution - poverty - indigence - privation - want - beggary - impoverishment ## Antonyms - wealth - affluence - opulence - abundance ## Derived Forms - penurious ## Related Forms - penurious ## Roots and Affixes - Root: penuria ## Etymology From Latin penuria ('want, scarcity, need'), of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps related to paene ('almost'). ## AI Etymology Penury comes from Latin penuria ('want, scarcity, need'), of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps related to paene ('almost'). The etymological trail includes Latin penuria. As a noun, penury means extreme poverty or destitution. The same family is visible in derived forms such as penurious and related forms such as penurious. The uncertainty belongs to the older derivation, so the explanation should preserve alternatives rather than choosing one unsupported origin. ## Topics - Word Formation & Derivatives - General Vocabulary markdown