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absolute poverty

Definition of Absolute Poverty

(noun) A type of poverty that is the same regardless of location and that occurs when the resources required for minimum physical health are lacking, typically defined by limited access to food, clothing, and shelter.

Absolute Poverty Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: ab·so·lute pov·er·ty

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /Ab-suh-loot pAHv-uhr-tee/
  • British English – /Ab-suh-loot pOv-uh-tee/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈæbsəˌlut ˈpɑvərti/
  • British English – /ˈæbsəluːt ˈpɒvəti/

Usage Notes

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Additional Information

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Works Consulted

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Bruce, Steve, and Steven Yearley. 2006. The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

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Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

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Stolley, Kathy S. 2005. The Basics of Sociology. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

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Thorpe, Christopher, Chris Yuill, Mitchell Hobbs, Sarah Tomley, and Marcus Weeks. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Absolute Poverty

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “absolute poverty.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/absolute-poverty/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

absolute poverty. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/absolute-poverty/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “absolute poverty.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/absolute-poverty/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“absolute poverty.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/absolute-poverty/>.