appauvris

Appauvris is a French-language term used in sociological and political discourse to refer to people experiencing poverty or material precarity. The word is the plural form of the adjective appauvri, meaning impoverished, and derives from the verb appauvrir, to impoverish. In gendered usage, the feminine and plural forms are appauvrie (singular) and appauvries (plural), while the masculine or mixed plural is appauvris.

In academic and policy contexts, appauvris denotes a population segment facing limitations in income, housing, healthcare, education, or employment stability. The term is often used to discuss structural factors that generate and sustain poverty, such as labor market changes, social protection gaps, regional disparities, or urban marginalization. It is commonly employed in comparative analyses, welfare evaluations, and studies of social inequality to describe lived experiences without reducing individuals to a single characteristic.

Usage considerations include regional and disciplinary variation; some writers prefer more specific terms like pauvres, personnes en précarité, or individus économiquement défavorisés. Critics caution that labels can oversimplify diverse experiences or carry normative implications. As with any socio-economic category, the term appauvris is most informative when complemented by context about income levels, duration of deprivation, access to services, and local policy environments.

See also: Poverty in France, Social inequality, Welfare state, Precarity.