indigent

[ in-di-juhnt ]
See synonyms for: indigentindigents on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. lacking food, clothing, and other necessities of life because of poverty; needy; poor; impoverished.

  2. Archaic.

    • deficient in what is requisite.

    • destitute (usually followed by of).

noun
  1. a person who is indigent.

Origin of indigent

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin indigent-, stem of indigēns “needing, lacking,” present participle of indigēre “to need, lack, be poor,” from ind-, variant of in- in-2 (cf. indagate) + -igēre, combining form of egēre “to need, lack”

Other words for indigent

Other words from indigent

  • in·di·gent·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with indigent

Words Nearby indigent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use indigent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for indigent

indigent

/ (ˈɪndɪdʒənt) /


adjective
  1. so poor as to lack even necessities; very needy

  2. (usually foll by of) archaic lacking (in) or destitute (of)

noun
  1. an impoverished person

Origin of indigent

1
C14: from Latin indigēre to need, from egēre to lack

Derived forms of indigent

  • indigence, noun
  • indigently, adverb

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