1. the state of being extremely poor; lack of money or material possessions
2. the state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount

Examples

• Many families in the region live in extreme poverty.
• The government launched new programs to reduce child poverty.
• She grew up in poverty but worked hard to improve her situation.
• The poverty of natural resources made development difficult.
• There was a poverty of imagination in his writing.
• The poverty line is used to measure economic hardship.
• Urban poverty affects millions of people worldwide.