penury
extreme poverty or destitution
Word origin: From Latin penuria, want or scarcity.
Penury in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing penury in a sentence.
The artist spent his final years in penury, selling work for pennies.
The diaries record the artist's slide from modest comfort into outright penury.
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Verbal · Sentence Equivalence
Although she had every reason to gloat after the verdict, the attorney remained blank, accepting the win without a hint of boastfulness.
Using “penury” well
Penury denotes severe, grinding poverty, a far stronger word than mere want. Distinguish it from penurious, the adjective meaning stingy or destitute.
More GRE words starting with P
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done with careful and thorough effort
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resembling a palace in size or grandeur
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to ease the severity of something without curing it
pale or lacking vitality and color
Questions about “penury”
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