verb

impoverish

to impoverish

The war impoverished the country.

The war impoverished the country.

Poor farming practices can impoverish the soil.

Poor farming practices can impoverish the soil.

to impoverish ((sb./sth.)) The long drought impoverished the farmers.

Synonyms: ruin, bankrupt, deplete; Antonyms: enrich, develop

From 'im-' (in) + Old French 'povre' (poor) + '-ish' (verb-forming suffix). Literally 'to make poor'.

Imagine making someone go 'in' to a state of 'poverty'. The 'im-' prefix here means 'in' or 'into'.

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