penury

Meaning

1. Extreme want; poverty; destitution.
2. A lack of something; a dearth.

Synonyms

poverty

indigence

destitution

need

want

pauperism

pauperization

distress

privation

lacking

misery

needfulness

neediness

poorness

scarcity

shortage

short of

stinginess

very poor

pain

avarice

necessitousness

dearth

deficiency

emergency

exigency

garrulous

hardship

impoverishment

inadequate

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈpɛnjʊɹi/

Etymology

Cognate with French: pénurie

In summary

From Latin pēnūria (“want”), related to paene (“scarcely”, adverb), c. 1400. Compare French pénurie.