1. the state of being extremely poor; extreme poverty

Examples

• The economic crisis led to widespread pauperism in the region.
• Government programs were designed to combat pauperism among the elderly.
• The charity worked to lift families out of pauperism through job training.
• Pauperism increased dramatically during the Great Depression.
• Social reformers studied the causes of pauperism in urban areas.
• The novel depicted the harsh realities of pauperism in Victorian England.