Word: penury (noun)

Associations

Penury means extreme poverty or a severe lack of money and resources. It is a strong word used to describe a very difficult financial situation where someone has almost nothing.

• Example 1: "After losing his job, he lived in penury for several months." This shows someone experiencing severe poverty.
• Example 2: "The village suffered from penury, lacking basic necessities like food and clean water." This shows a community in extreme hardship.
• Example 3: "She escaped penury through hard work and education." This shows moving away from poverty.

Synonym: poverty.
Difference: Poverty is a general word for not having enough money. Penury is more intense and formal, often used in literature or serious discussion.

Substitution

You can replace "penury" with:

• extreme poverty (more common, descriptive)
• destitution (similar meaning, very formal)
• indigence (formal, less common) Each word changes the tone slightly. Penury is formal and strong.

Deconstruction

"Penury" comes from Latin "penuria" meaning scarcity or lack.
No prefix or suffix here, just the root word.
It has been used in English since the 15th century to mean extreme poverty.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a story or movie where a character lives in penury?
• How would you describe penury to someone who has never experienced poverty?
• What are some ways people can escape penury?

Try to use the word in a sentence about something you learned or saw recently!