Someone who is destitute has no money or possessions.
[formal]
...destitute children who live on the streets.
Synonyms: penniless, poor, impoverished, distressed More Synonyms of destitute
destitute in British English
(ˈdɛstɪˌtjuːt)
adjective
1.
lacking the means of subsistence; totally impoverished
2. (postpositive; foll byof)
completely lacking; deprived or bereft (of)
destitute of words
3. obsolete
abandoned or deserted
Derived forms
destituteness (ˈdestiˌtuteness)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Latin dēstitūtus forsaken, from dēstituere to leave alone, from statuere to place
destitute in American English
(ˈdɛstəˌtut; ˈdɛstəˌtjut)
adjective
1.
not having; being without; lacking (with of)
destitute of trees
2.
lacking the necessities of life; living in complete poverty
3. Obsolete
abandoned; forsaken
SIMILAR WORDS: poor
Word origin
ME < L destitutus, pp. of destituere, to forsake, abandon < de-, down, away + statuere, to set, place: see statute
Examples of 'destitute' in a sentence
destitute
Saints players gave time and money to help the poor and destitute.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
A woman answered the knock at her door and found a destitute man.
Christianity Today (2000)
The poet's family had become destitute in the previous bitter winter and her elderly mother had died of starvation.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
Our family is now destitute.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Raised on a trailer park in Michigan, he spent much of his early career destitute and homeless.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It's been three weeks since the beginning of the catastrophe and more than 20m people are destitute.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
At the same time, industrial capitalism also resulted in the massive movement of farmers into cities, which soon became swollen with destitute people in search of work.
Appelbaum, Richard P. Sociology (1995)
In other languages
destitute
British English: destitute ADJECTIVE
Someone who is destitute has no money or possessions.
...destitute children who live on the streets.
American English: destitute
Brazilian Portuguese: indigente
Chinese: 赤贫的
European Spanish: indigente
French: indigent
German: mittellos
Italian: indigente
Japanese: 困窮した
Korean: 극빈한
European Portuguese: indigente
Latin American Spanish: indigente
(adjective)
Definition
lacking the means to live
destitute families who live in poverty
Synonyms
penniless
a penniless refugee
poor
He was one of thirteen children from a poor family.
impoverished
The goal is to lure businesses into impoverished areas.
distressed
investment in the nation's distressed areas
needy
a project aimed at raising funds for needy children around the world
on the rocks
insolvent
poverty-stricken
delivering medical aid to poverty-stricken areas
down and out
indigent (formal)
Medical professionals should be permitted to provide free healthcare to indigent people.
impecunious
I first met him when he was an impecunious, would-be racing driver.
dirt-poor (informal)
on the breadline (informal)
flat broke (informal)
short
penurious
on your uppers
necessitous (literary)
Necessitous people are not free people.
in queer street (informal)
moneyless
without two pennies to rub together (informal)
phrase
See destitute of
Additional synonyms
in the sense of distressed
Definition
in financial difficulties
investment in the nation's distressed areas
Synonyms
poverty-stricken,
poor,
impoverished,
needy,
destitute,
indigent (formal),
down at heel,
straitened,
penurious
in the sense of impecunious
Definition
without money
I first met him when he was an impecunious, would-be racing driver.
Synonyms
poor,
broke (informal),
penniless,
short,
strapped (slang),
stony (British, slang),
cleaned out (slang),
insolvent,
destitute,
poverty-stricken,
down and out,
skint (British, slang),
indigent,
dirt-poor (informal),
flat broke (informal),
in queer street,
without two pennies to rub together (informal)
in the sense of impoverished
The goal is to lure businesses into impoverished areas.