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

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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

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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; see statute) + -ū- thematic vowel + -tus past participle suffix

Explanation

When you think of the word destitute, which means poor or lacking other necessities of life, think of someone who is in desperate straits. A very, very tight budget is poor. Living on the streets is destitute. Destitute essentially means not having something. When you're destitute in the sense of being poor, you're technically "destitute of money." You can be destitute of other things as well. If all your friends have abandoned you, you're "destitute of friends." If you are applying for a job as a waitress but have never worked in a restaurant in any capacity, you're "destitute of experience."

Example Sentences

The farm Ordway received in Missouri, as a reward for his great services to the expedition, was destroyed by the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes—leaving his children destitute.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

My father, 75, is essentially destitute and in failing health.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 4, 2026

The Dominican nuns who run the kitchen prepare food for about 80 elderly or destitute people -- growing numbers of Cubans are forced to rummage through garbage bins for food -- each day.

From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026

Support would still be available for "those who are destitute" but will be withheld from those with permission to work who do not, and from people who break the law or defy removal directions.

From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025

The Slabs functions as the seasonal capital of a teeming itinerant society—a tolerant, rubber-tired culture comprising the retired, the exiled, the destitute, the perpetually unemployed.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• bankrupt
• exhausted
• impoverished
• indigent
• insolvent
• needy
• penniless
• poor
• poverty-stricken
• strapped