penury

Plural: penuries

Noun

Extreme poverty; destitution or severe scarcity.
a state of extreme poverty or destitution
Extreme want; poverty; destitution.
A lack of something; a dearth.

Examples

After playing all his high-value letters, his rack was left in PENURY.

Origin / Etymology

From Latin pēnūria (“want”), related to paene (“scarcely”, adverb), c. 1400. Compare French pénurie.

Synonyms

indigence, need, pauperism, pauperization, barrenness, insufficiency

Scrabble Score: 11

penury: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
penury: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
penury: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

penury: valid Words With Friends Word