Spanish Conversation · Level 71
60 words
Spanish word
empobrecer
Pronunciation
IPA/empoβɾeˈθeɾ/
Meaning
- verbbecome poor
Example
La familia se empobreció tras la crisis.
The family became poor after the crisis.
More examples
La reforma fiscal empobreció a los pequeños ahorradores.
The tax reform impoverished small savers.
Core concept
A wallet becoming emptier.
Common phrases
empobrecer a alguien
impoverish someone
empobrecerse
become poor
empobrecer al país
impoverish the country
Similar words
empobrecerse: Become poor personally as income or resources run out.
arruinar: Cause someone or something to become financially ruined or bankrupt.
Definition in Spanish
Experimentar o provocar una reducción notable de recursos, renta o bienestar, tanto de forma reflexiva como transitiva.
Word origin
Formed from em- plus the adjective pobre and the verb-forming suffix -ecer (from Latin -escere), creating a verb that means to make poor or to become poor.
Usage tips
- The first-person singular is empobrezco because verbs in -ecer commonly change to -ezco, and the verb frequently appears reflexively as empobrecerse.
Other meanings
- impoverishverb
Opposites
- enriquecerenrichverb
- enriquecersebecome richverb
Related words
- empobrecimientoimpoverishmentnoun
- empobrecidoimpoverishedadjective
- empobrecedorimpoverishingadjective