Hard up
Hard up adjective - Lacking money or material possessions.
Usage example: despite being undeniably hard up, they had too much pride to accept charity
Poor is a synonym for hard up in in trouble topic. In some cases you can use "Poor" instead an adjective phrase "Hard up".
Poor
Poor adjective - Lacking money or material possessions.
Usage example: every year, we make up a basket of food at Thanksgiving for a poor family in the neighborhood
Hard up is a synonym for poor in impoverished topic. You can use "Hard up" instead an adjective "Poor", if it concerns topics such as poverty-stricken, lacking sufficient money.
Mutual synonyms
Cite this Source
Poor and Hard up. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hard_up/poor
Hard up & Poor. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hard_up/poor>.
Poor or Hard up. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hard_up/poor.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hard up" and "poor" have occurred on timeline