poverty of the stimulus

noun

The idea that human language cannot be learned by young children with what information they are given, unless they already have an innate knowledge of language or universal grammar.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounpoverty of the stimulus (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehuman sciencesThe idea that human language cannot be learned by young children with what information they are given, unless they already have an innate knowledge of language or universal grammar.

Origin

Coined by Noam Chomsky in 1980, though he had argued for the idea some years earlier.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

poverty of the stimulus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poverty%20of%20the%20stimulus

MLA

“poverty of the stimulus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poverty%20of%20the%20stimulus. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poverty of the stimulus,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poverty%20of%20the%20stimulus.

Source: poverty of the stimulus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.