impoverish

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English empoverishen, impoverishen, empoverischen, enpoverisshen, Anglo-Norman empoveriss-, from Old French empoverir, from em- + povre, from Latin pauper (“poor”) (English poor). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɒv(ə)ɹɪʃ/ === Verb === impoverish (third-person singular simple present impoverishes, present participle impoverishing, simple past and past participle impoverished) (transitive) To make poor. Synonyms: empoverish, immiserate, poor (rare), ruin; see also Thesaurus:impoverish Antonym: enrich (transitive) To weaken in quality; to deprive of some strength or richness. Synonym: deplete (intransitive) To become poor. ==== Derived terms ==== impoverishee impoverisher impoverishment ==== Translations ==== === References === “impoverish”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “impoverish”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “impoverish”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. “impoverish”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN. “impoverish”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “impoverish”, in Online Etymology Dictionary. “impoverish”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.