impoverishment

2 definitions found

impoverishment - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Impoverishment \Im*pov"er*ish*ment\, n. [Cf. OF.
     empoverissement, and F. appauvrissement.]
     The act of impoverishing, or the state of being impoverished;
     reduction to poverty. --Sir W. Scott.
     [1913 Webster]

impoverishment - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  impoverishment
      n 1: the state of having little or no money and few or no
           material possessions [syn: poverty, poorness,
           impoverishment] [ant: wealth, wealthiness]
      2: the act of making someone poor [syn: pauperization,
         pauperisation, impoverishment]