[syn: pauperization, pauperisation, impoverishment]
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]
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]