PENURY
indigence, need, penury, pauperism, pauperization
(noun) a state of extreme poverty or destitution; “their indigence appalled him”; “a general state of need exists among the homeless”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
penury (usually uncountable, plural penuries)
Extreme want; poverty; destitution.
A lack of something; a dearth.
Synonyms: barrenness, insufficiency
Anagrams
• pruney
Source: Wiktionary
Pen"u*ry, n. Etym: [L. penuria; cf. Gr. pénurie.]
1. Absence of resources; want; privation; indigence; extreme poverty;
destitution. "A penury of military forces." Bacon.
They were exposed to hardship and penury. Sprat.
It arises in neither from penury of thought. Landor.
2. Penuriousness; miserliness. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition