destitution

noun

des·​ti·​tu·​tion ˌde-stə-ˈtü-shən 

-ˈtyü-

: the state of being destitute

especially : such extreme want as threatens life unless relieved

Synonyms

• beggary
• destituteness
• impecuniosity
• impecuniousness
• impoverishment
• indigence
• necessity
• need
• neediness
• pauperism
• penuriousness
• penury
• poorness
• poverty
• want

Choose the Right Synonym for destitution

poverty, indigence, penury, want, destitution mean the state of one with insufficient resources.

poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

the indigence of her years as a graduate student

penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.

a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure.

lived in a perpetual state of want

the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

Examples of destitution in a Sentence

widespread destitution in Third World countries

Recent Examples on the Web

Thanks in part to regular double-digit levels of growth in the decades that followed economic liberalization — plus the very recent memory of total destitution — China’s population not too long ago was one of the most optimistic in the world. —Bryan Walsh, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

At the same time, the restrictive conditions and lack of access to state support mean people are often forced to stay with exploitative employers, or face destitution and even deportation. —Frey Lindsay, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024

The contrast with Currents’ relative destitution was a little, to echo the title of the magazine’s podcast, on the nose. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

By that point people will have died or fallen into destitution, and social systems have often collapsed, says Andrew Seal of University College London. —Byleslie Roberts, science.org, 11 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above