Destitute

/ˈdɛstɪtʃuːt/ · adjective

Meaning

(followed by the preposition "of") Lacking something; devoid..

Definitions by Sense

1. (followed by the preposition "of") Lacking something; devoid.
2. Lacking money, poor, impoverished; especially, extremely so.
3. (transitive) To impoverish; to strip of wealth, resources, etc.

Example Sentences

Now, though this region may scarcely be said to be wedded to science, being to all intents a virgin territory as respects the enquirer into natural history, still it is greatly destitute of the treasures of the vegetable kingdom.

In thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.

Near-synonym: penniless

May 24, 2018, Alex Vadukul in The New York Times, The Forgotten Entertainer Rag

‘Do you know how pinched and destitute I am?’ she retorted. ‘I do not think you do, or can. If you had eyes, and could look around you on this poor place, you would have pity on me.[…]’ In 1907 he moved from St. Louis to New York City, arriving as a famous composer. But he died a decade later at the age of 49, destitute in an asylum on Wards Island as ragtime was fading in popularity.

according to the most careful estimates, 3,950,000 destitute peoples, mostly women and children who had been driven many of them as far as one thousand miles from home, turn their pitiful faces toward America for help in the reconstructive period in which we are now living.

He wondered how many people were destitute that same night even in his own prosperous country, how many homes were shanties, how many husbands were drunk and wives socked, and how many children were bullied, abused or abandoned.

Synonyms for destitute

Antonyms for destitute

Related Words

Word Forms

• more destitute
• most destitute
• destitutes
• destituting
• destituted

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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