Years of civil war had beggared the country.

the pitiful beggars that are such a common sight in underdeveloped countries

I heard you won the contest! You lucky beggar!

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

No one, regardless of age, should be subjected to flogging; that a child was prosecuted for consuming alcohol and sentenced to 80 lashes beggars belief. Greg Norman, Fox News, "GRAPHIC PHOTO: Iran slammed for 'shocking' flogging of man convicted for drinking alcohol as a teen," 12 July 2018

The beggars are a blind man and a 10-year-old boy, the boy hired from his father for this specific purpose. Laila Lalami, New York Times, "Displaced Persons," 1 Jan. 2018

At grocery stores, beggars jostle with middle-class shoppers, who sheepishly ask to put their purchases on credit. David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, "With Gaza in Financial Crisis, Fears That ‘an Explosion’s Coming’," 11 Feb. 2018

Reporting on the study in Februrary, Nicola Davis at The Guardian revealed that image of a crouching beggar woman also had a secret history. Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "High-Tech Scanning Shows Picasso’s Blue Period Evolution," 11 June 2018

And this is definitely the closest that Chelsea have come to beggars in the 15 year reign of Roman Abramovich. SI.com, "Why Chelsea Should Take a Punt on Super Jack Wilshere and Make Him the Golden Boy He Deserves to Be," 22 June 2018

Evictions of thousands of people from makeshift settlements in Abidjan and a drive to chase street vendors and beggars from intersections have stoked criticism that the government is ignoring the poor. Pauline Bax, Bloomberg.com, "Ivory Coast’s President Suggests He May Run Again, Sparking Concern," 4 June 2018

In the capital’s historic center, where prayers echo from loudspeakers and child beggars haunt visitors, 23-year-old Musid has nothing good to say about the social opening sweeping across Islam’s birthplace. Bloomberg.com, "Some Saudi Millennials Won’t Dance to Their Young Prince’s Tune," 29 Jan. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Summer is made of stories: fiction that seems true, and true stories that beggar belief. John Timpane, Philly.com, "A summer made of stories: Great books for warmer days," 2 June 2018

To imagine that a country with an economy smaller than Canada’s or Italy’s could leverage a superpower ten times wealthier beggared the imagination. Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Russian Leverage Over Trump Is Not Just a Theory. It’s Now Fact.," 8 May 2018

And both seek a way out, though nothing could be less virtual, or more beggared of thrills, than the path that Charley chooses. Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, "“Ready Player One” and “Lean on Pete”," 24 Mar. 2018

The prescience of this story, intended as satire in the mid-’70s and all too real in 2018 America, beggars belief. Hamish Bowles, Vogue, "From Buckingham Palace to the National Theatre, Hamish Bowles Takes London by Storm," 23 Feb. 2018

Cousins was having his best season as a pro, putting up stat lines that beggared belief, fusing brilliantly with fellow All-Star big man Anthony Davis, and likely leading the Pelicans to a playoff berth. Nathaniel Friedman, GQ, "Boogie Makes the NBA Better," 30 Jan. 2018

Through it all, the obscenely wealthy Rauner squats amid his piles of money and blames everyone but himself for beggaring his state. Noah Berlatsky, Chicago Reader, "Unless Illinois is very, very unlucky, Governor Bruce Rauner will be out on his ass in 2018," 20 Dec. 2017

Despite its oil wealth, years of economic mismanagement have beggared Venezuela. Fabiola Zerpa, Bloomberg.com, "Venezuelan Arrests Show Maduro Moving Fast to Snatch Power," 1 Aug. 2017

Arya, in an opening scene that at first beggared belief — Time, "Game of Thrones’ Finely Crafted Season 7 Premiere Proves the Show Has New Tricks," 16 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beggar.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.