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destitute

American  
[des-ti-toot, -tyoot] / ˈdɛs tɪˌtut, -ˌtyut /

adjective

  1. without means of subsistence; lacking food, clothing, and shelter.

    Synonyms:
    impoverished, penniless, necessitous, indigent, poor, needy
    Antonyms:
    affluent

  2. deprived of, devoid of, or lacking (often followed byof ).

    destitute of children.
    Synonyms:
    deficient

verb (used with object)

destituted, destituting

  1. to leave destitute.

destitute British  
/ ˈdɛstɪˌtjuːt /

adjective

  1. lacking the means of subsistence; totally impoverished

  2. completely lacking; deprived or bereft (of)

    destitute of words

  3. obsolete abandoned or deserted

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • destitutely adverb
  • destituteness noun
  • predestitute adjective
  • undestitute adjective

Etymology

Origin of destitute

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin dēstitūtus (past participle of dēstituere to abandon, deprive of support), equivalent to dē- de- + stit- place, put (combining form of statuere; statute ) + -ū- thematic vowel + -tus past participle suffix

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.