impoverishment

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

impoverishment
    n 1: the state of having little or no money and few or no
         material possessions [syn: {poverty}, {poorness},
         {impoverishment}] [ant: {wealth}, {wealthiness}]
    2: the act of making someone poor [syn: {pauperization},
       {pauperisation}, {impoverishment}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Impoverishment \Im*pov"er*ish*ment\, n. [Cf. OF.
   empoverissement, and F. appauvrissement.]
   The act of impoverishing, or the state of being impoverished;
   reduction to poverty. --Sir W. Scott.
   [1913 Webster]

[email protected]