🌥️ Fairly bad 💸 Not very wealthy

poorish

4.0

Not having much money or many things

adjective
/ˈpʊrɪʃ/

Informal

: pobre

I feel poorish today.

Examples

She grew up in a poorish neighborhood where many families struggled to make ends meet.
The family's financial situation is quite poorish.
They grew up in a poorish area but always found ways to have fun.
Although his salary was modest, he never complained about his poorish lifestyle.
The school serves children from mostly poorish backgrounds.
His clothing was poorish, reflecting his limited financial resources during college.
Despite their poorish background, they were determined to provide a better life for their children.

Synonyms

poor

vspoorish

∞ 1.0

Having little money or possessions

is milder and describes a slight lack of money

needy

vspoorish

43 1.5

Without enough food, clothes, or a home and often gets help from others

is a softer term for having only a small amount of money

impecunious

vspoorish

1 9.9

Having little or no money

is less severe, referring to only a modest lack of money

unwealthy

vspoorish

3.7

Not having much money or valuable things

is milder meaning only a small shortage of money

Antonyms

wealthy

520 2.5

Having a lot of money and many expensive things

affluent

67 5.5

Having a lot of money and possessions

How Poor

destitute

20 6.5

impoverished

50 6.2

poor

∞ 1.0

poorish

Informal

4.0

Surface Forms

poorish positive

Morphology

poorish = poor (transparent) = poor + ish

The productive suffix '-ish' forms a degree adjective from the financial sense of 'poor' meaning 'somewhat poor'.

Etymology

Poorish comes from poor ('not rich, having little money') and the ending -ish ('somewhat' or 'a little'), so it means 'a little poor' or 'not very well off', as when someone has only a small amount of money.