deprived
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deprived
Explanation
Being deprived means lacking important things like food and water. For example, when warm clothing, housing, and nutrition are in short supply, the people are deprived of basics of life. You can use the adjective deprived to describe conditions or people who don’t have what they need or don't have enough. Some uses of deprived are for small things, like when you're deprived of dessert because you didn’t eat your vegetables, but most of the time deprived describes a very serious lack of essential things or services.
Vocabulary lists containing deprived
The Bill of Rights
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Donald Trump Inauguration Address- January 20, 2017
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Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Syllabus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I know the experiences of deaf women being excluded, being deprived of communication, being deprived of help, being deprived of access, being deprived of so many things.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The UVM team instead asked what would happen if cancer cells were deprived of one of their most important antioxidant defenses.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Upton acknowledged how the children spent four years "in squalid conditions which deprived them of... a happy and healthy childhood".
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
It was a major setback that deprived the IBA of a key source of its international influence.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
One grows accustomed to eating regularly and the body is not used to being deprived.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
