Destitution

//dɛstɪˈtuːʃən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The action of deserting or abandoning. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  2. 2
    a state without friends or money or prospects wordnet
  3. 3
    Discharge from office; dismissal. archaic, countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    The condition of lacking something. countable, uncountable

    "He requires of his fellow man obedience to a very creditable code of morals, but he observes without shame or disapproval his God's utter destitution of morals."

  5. 5
    An extreme state of poverty, in which a person is almost completely lacking in resources or means of support. countable, uncountable

    "Destitution forces many asylum seekers to end up working for extremely low wages in catering, cleaning and construction, for example, without any protection against unscrupulous employers."

Synonyms

All synonyms
absenceadversitybare cupboardbare subsistencebeggarlinessbeggary

Example

More examples

"We fight to pull ourselves out of destitution."

Etymology

From Old French destitution, from Latin dēstitūtiō (“abandoning”), from dēstituō.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.