verb transitiveWord forms: ˈpauperˌized or ˈpauperˌizing
to make a pauper of; impoverish
Derived forms
pauperization (ˌpauperiˈzation)
noun
pauperize in American English
(ˈpɔpəˌraiz)
transitive verbWord forms: -ized, -izing
to make a pauper of
His extravagance pauperized him
Alsoesp Britpauperise
Derived forms
pauperization
noun
pauperizer
noun
Word origin
[1825–35; pauper + -ize]This word is first recorded in the period 1825–35. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: cross section, relativity, runway, self-help, structural-ize is a verb-forming suffix occurring originally in loanwords from Greek that have enteredEnglish through Latin or French (baptize; barbarize; catechize); within English, -ize is added to adjectives and nouns to form transitive verbs with the general senses“to render, make” (actualize; fossilize; sterilize; Americanize), “to convert into, give a specified character or form to” (computerize; dramatize; itemize; motorize), “to subject to (as a process, sometimes named after its originator)” (hospitalize; terrorize; galvanize; oxidize; simonize; winterize). Also formed with -ize are a more heterogeneous group of verbs, usually intransitive, denoting a changeof state (crystallize), kinds or instances of behavior (apologize; moralize; tyrannize), or activities (economize; philosophize; theorize)
Synonyms of 'pauperize'
impoverish, break, ruin, bust
More Synonyms of pauperize
(verb)
Synonyms
impoverish
a society impoverished by wartime inflation
break
The newspapers can make or break you.
ruin
She accused him of ruining her financially.
bust (informal)
They will have to bust the door to get him out.
bankrupt
The move to the market nearly bankrupted the firm and its director.
beggar
cripple financially
reduce to beggary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of bankrupt
Definition
to make bankrupt
The move to the market nearly bankrupted the firm and its director.