penury

/ˈpen-yə-rē/

Middle English, from Latin penuria, paenuria want; perhaps akin to Latin paene almost

noun

  1. a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (such as money); especially : severe, poverty

  2. extreme and often stingy frugality

poverty indigence penury want destitution mean the state of one with insufficient resources. poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts. indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.