destitute

[ des-ti-toot, -tyoot ]

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adjective

without means of subsistence; lacking food, clothing, and shelter.
deprived of, devoid of, or lacking (often followed by of): destitute of children.

verb (used with object),des·ti·tut·ed, des·ti·tut·ing.

to leave destitute.

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

Other words for destitute

1	needy, poor, indigent, necessitous, penniless, impoverished
2	deficient

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Opposites for destitute

affluent

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Other words from destitute

des·ti·tute·ly, adverb
des·ti·tute·ness, noun
pre·des·ti·tute, adjective
un·des·ti·tute, adjective

Words Nearby destitute

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use destitute in a sentence

When everyone is struggling, how much is to be offered to the more destitute, and how much is to be accepted?
This Week’s Hot Reads: December 22, 2014 | Mythili Rao | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
What happened to the Christian concern to “love the least of these,” the most vulnerable, the most destitute?
Dear Evangelicals: You’re Being Had | Jay Michaelson | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
And by 1918 much of Central and Eastern Europe was starving and destitute.
How WWI Produced the Holocaust | J.P. O’Malley | November 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In critical ways, Russia remains technologically adept, but by its current behavior Russia is also revealed as morally destitute.
Russia’s Missiles Stung the World Long Before MH17 | Clive Irving | July 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
From the American Dust Bowl, thousands of destitute farm families stream westward.
Adam Hochschild on Keeping Company With His Dying Father | Adam Hochschild | June 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

When the old couple became bankrupt and died, the old nurse found herself alone and almost destitute in the world.
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. Ballantyne
Louis was benevolent, but destitute of the decision of character requisite to hold the reins of government in so stormy a period.
Madame Roland, Makers of History | John S. C. Abbott
Now here is a lady, well educated and delicately nurtured, who is destitute of the common necessaries of life.
The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
It must be borne in mind, in this consideration, that the apes differ from the other tree-dwellers in being destitute of claws.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
The lower jaws in both were heavy, while the woman was almost destitute of a chin—a marked ape-like characteristic.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris

British Dictionary definitions for destitute

destitute

/ (ˈdɛstɪˌtjuːt) /

adjective

lacking the means of subsistence; totally impoverished
(postpositive foll by of) completely lacking; deprived or bereft (of): destitute of words

obsolete abandoned or deserted

Origin of destitute

C14: from Latin dēstitūtus forsaken, from dēstituere to leave alone, from statuere to place

Derived forms of destitute

destituteness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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