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
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
widespread destitution in Third World countries
Recent Examples on the Web The welfare rolls declined precipitously – from 5.1 million families in 1994 to just over 2 million in 2000 – but, as Child Trends shows, destitution was not the result. 
Oren Cass, CNN, 15 Sep. 2022 Of safety, as destitution fuels a crime wave even as terrorist attacks — though reduced — continue to kill and maim. Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2022 The loss plunged Fatima, her five siblings, and her mother – now a single housewife – into grief and destitution. Innocent Eteng, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 July 2022 While there are few reports of violent retribution against returning families, many describe lives of destitution and ostracism. Mustafa Salim, Washington Post, 5 July 2022 At sixty, Casanova was forced by destitution to accept a modest sinecure as the librarian of a castle in Bohemia, owned by a noble admirer who was rarely in residence. Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022 No matter the utter destitution of their subjects, politicians and those close to politicians will always eat, and eat well. John Tamny, Forbes, 13 Apr. 2022 However, the last two years have clearly pushed a lot more people into harsh destitution. David Meyer, Fortune, 20 Apr. 2022 Shelter is an issue impacting many people, from those on the brink of destitution to a whole generation of younger Californians for whom homeownership appears increasingly out of reach. Joshua Emerson Smith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2022 See More
Oren Cass, CNN, 15 Sep. 2022 Of safety, as destitution fuels a crime wave even as terrorist attacks — though reduced — continue to kill and maim. Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2022 The loss plunged Fatima, her five siblings, and her mother – now a single housewife – into grief and destitution. Innocent Eteng, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 July 2022 While there are few reports of violent retribution against returning families, many describe lives of destitution and ostracism. Mustafa Salim, Washington Post, 5 July 2022 At sixty, Casanova was forced by destitution to accept a modest sinecure as the librarian of a castle in Bohemia, owned by a noble admirer who was rarely in residence. Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 20 June 2022 No matter the utter destitution of their subjects, politicians and those close to politicians will always eat, and eat well. John Tamny, Forbes, 13 Apr. 2022 However, the last two years have clearly pushed a lot more people into harsh destitution. David Meyer, Fortune, 20 Apr. 2022 Shelter is an issue impacting many people, from those on the brink of destitution to a whole generation of younger Californians for whom homeownership appears increasingly out of reach. Joshua Emerson Smith, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
destitution
noun
des·ti·tu·tion ˌde-stə-ˈtü-shən
-ˈtyü-
: the condition of being very poor
destitution
noun
as in poverty
the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions widespread destitution in Third World countries Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- poverty
- misery
- penury
- impoverishment
- beggary
- indigence
- necessity
- pauperism
- neediness
- impecuniosity
- poorness
- deprivation
- impecuniousness
- penuriousness
- wretchedness
- bankruptcy
- destituteness
- privation
- need
- exigency
- emergency
- woe
- insolvency
- gutter
- want
- austerity
- rainy day
- pinching
- straitening
- belt-tightening
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- affluence
- opulence
- wealth
- prosperity
- richness
- luxury
- wealthiness
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of destitution are indigence, penury, poverty, and want. While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," 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
While the synonyms indigence and destitution are close in meaning, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.
the indigence of her years as a graduate student
The meanings of penury and destitution largely overlap; however, penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.
a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury
The synonyms poverty and destitution are sometimes interchangeable, but poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.
the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers
- makes believe
- makes common cause
- makes do
- makes ends meet
- makes eyes
- makes eyes (at)
- makes eyes at
- makes for
- makes fun of
- makes game of
- makes good
- makes good (for)
- makes good for
- makes it
- makes it (through)
- makes it through
- makes little sense
- makes love
- makes me sick to my stomach
- makes much of
- makes no sense
- makes of
- makes off
- nomic
- nomina