different between poor vs dismal
poor
English
Etymology
From Middle English povre, povere, from Old French (and Anglo-Norman) povre, poure (Modern French pauvre), from Latin pauper (English pauper), from Old Latin *pavo-pars (literally “getting little”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh?w- (“few, small”). Cognate with Old English f?awa (“little, few”). Doublet of pauper.
Displaced native Middle English earm, arm (“poor”) (from Old English earm; See arm), Middle English wantsum, wantsome (“poor, needy”) (from Old Norse vant (“deficiency, lack, want”)), Middle English unlede (“poor”) (from Old English unl?de), Middle English unweli, unwely (“poor, unwealthy”) (from Old English un- + weli? (“well-to-do, prosperous, rich”).
Pronunciation
- (General Australian, General New Zealand) IPA(key): /po?/
- (Canada) IPA(key): /p??/, /pu?/, /p??/
- (Indian English) IPA(key): /?p?(?)?(r)/
- (Received Pronunciation)
- IPA(key): /p??(?)/, /p??(?)/
- (US)
- IPA(key): /p??/, /p??/
- Rhymes: -??(?), -??(?)
- Homophones: pour, pore (with the pour-poor merger)
- Homophone: paw (in some non-rhotic accents, with the pour-poor merger)
Adjective
poor (comparative poorer, superlative poorest)
- With no or few possessions or money, particularly in relation to contemporaries who do have them.
- The poor are always with us.
- Of low quality.
- Used to express pity.
- Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.
- Deficient in a specified way.
- Inadequate, insufficient.
- a. 1686, Benjamin Calamy, Sermon 1
- That I have wronged no Man, will be a poor plea or apology at the last day.
- a. 1686, Benjamin Calamy, Sermon 1
- Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek.
- Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Usage notes
When the word "poor" is used to express pity, it does not change the meaning of the sentence. For example, in the sentence "Give this soup to that poor man!", the word "poor" does not serve to indicate which man is meant (and so the sentence expresses exactly the same command as "Give this soup to that man!"). Instead, the word "poor" merely adds an expression of pity to the sentence.
Synonyms
- (with no or few possessions or money): See Thesaurus:impoverished
- (of low quality): inferior
- (to be pitied): pitiable, arm
Antonyms
- (with no or few possessions): rich, wealthy
- (of low quality): good
- (deficient in a specified way): rich
- (inadequate): adequate
Hyponyms
Derived terms
- deserving poor
- poorhouse
- undeserving poor
Related terms
Translations
Anagrams
- poro-, roop
Limburgish
Etymology
From Walloon porea.
Noun
poor m
- leek
Old French
Noun
poor f (oblique plural poors, nominative singular poor, nominative plural poors)
- fear
poor From the web:
- what poor means
- what poor vision looks like
- what poor circulation can cause
- what poor prognosis means
- what poor eyesight looks like
- what poor astronomers are they
- what poor in spirit means
- what poor instructions make crossword
dismal
English
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman dismal, from Old French (li) dis mals ("(the) bad days"), from Medieval Latin di?s (“day”) m?l? (“bad”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?d?zm?l/
- Rhymes: -?zm?l
Adjective
dismal (comparative more dismal, superlative most dismal)
- Disastrous, calamitous
- Disappointingly inadequate.
- Causing despair; gloomy and bleak.
- Depressing, dreary, cheerless.
Usage notes
- Nouns to which "dismal" is often applied: failure, performance, state, record, place, result, scene, season, year, economy, future, fate, weather, news, condition, history.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:cheerless
Derived terms
- dismal science
Translations
Anagrams
- almids
dismal From the web:
- what dismal means
- what's dismal failure
- dismaland what does it mean
- dismal what does it mean
- dismal what part of speech
- what is dismal science
- what do dismal mean
- what does dismal prognosis mean
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