Meaning

The state of a beggar; indigence, extreme poverty..

Definitions by Sense

1. The state of a beggar; indigence, extreme poverty.
2. The fact or action of begging.
3. Beggarly appearance.
4. (obsolete) beggarly

Example Sentences

1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, London: T. Payne & Son and T. Cadell, Volume I, Book I, Chapter 9, p. 128, […] she does not come hither as a beggar, however well the state of beggary may accord with her poverty: she only sollicits the payment of a bill […]

Happily some haplesse man hath conscience, And for his conscience lives in beggary.

Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail And say there is no sin but to be rich; And being rich, my virtue then shall be To say there is no vice but beggary.

The matter to be decided involved, in addition to the personal risks of life and liberty, the probable forfeiture of an immense estate, and the beggary, in consequence, of an only and beloved daughter.

There was, clearly, no future for him but beggary and a death in the workhouse.

[…] the landlady […] ushered them into a large garret where twenty or thirty people of all ages and both sexes lay and dozed away the day, choosing the evening and night for their trades of beggary, thieving, or prostitution.

[…] perhaps he would abandon beggary when there was no poor fool about to beg from.

[…] she looked back to the freedom and the beggary of the old studio in Soho with so much regret, that everybody, herself included, fancied she was consumed with grief for her father.

Word Forms

• beggaries
• more beggary
• most beggary

Synonyms for beggary

Related Words

When Should You Use Beggary?

Use beggary when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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