I'm thinking of these concepts, because I'm writing an article:
Some people are poor financially, but they act like ladies and gentlemen. In other words, they have kind hearts, big spirits, profound knowledge and beliefs, and many other things.
Some people are rich financially, and they have a lot of money, but they're far from being humanitarian, they won't help other people, they're not kind to their employees, they don't spend money for their family, etc. etc.
What I'm trying to convey is that monetary richness/poorness is something different to non-monetary states. And while they're correlated and effect each other, i.e., rich people are usually more modest, more knowledgeable, etc., but they can occur without the other one being present.
But I'm stuck at good terminology that can convey what I have in mind in the best way. I thought of rich vs. wealthy to denote that rich is someone who has money, but wealthy is who has lot's of good attributes, one of which might be money. However, I'm not content with them.
Can you help me picking out these four terms:
- Poor financially
- Poor non-financially
- Rich financially
- Rich non-financially
Best Answer
It sounds as though you are trying to write about the difference between wealth and nobility.
One who is poor financially is in poverty, or economically destitute, or bankrupt, though the last one is also a technical term. One who is poor in ethical qualities could be called inethical, immoral, abhorrent, crude, or any other number of words to describe one who is poorly-behaved. VERY specifically, if it is someone who doesn't share their money, you could say they are "cheap" or "a miser" or, more kindly, a "spendthrift" if they always spend as little as possible on their ventures.
Metaphorically, one who has no moral guidance or standards can also be called 'Bankrupt', though usually it is specifically called 'morally bankrupt' - meaning this would be two words, not one.
Financial richness has quite a few terms to describe it: wealthy, well-off, well-to-do, or one could be a millionaire, billionaire, or even trillionaire (All three being categorical). Whereas being rich in an ethical sense would be honorable, noble, decent, kind-hearted, and willing to share wealth would be generous, philanthropic/philanthropist, and charitable.
I believe the term you're looking to use depends on the exact nature you are trying to express in the person you're describing. Are they very willing to offer their wealth, even if they have little? Are they individuals who are incredibly wealthy, but who refuse to hand out their wealth? Or is it the grace of the person that you are judging? As in a poor individual who acts with dignity, or a wealthy individual who acts very cruel?
There is certainly a multitude of metaphors connecting wealth with virtue. Even "noble" has the connotation of being one of a higher-class and, therefore, wealthier than others (though this is a connotation, and in actuality nobles are not always wealthy). Rich in virtue, poor in manners, there's quite a lot of ways you can phrase what you want to say.