destitution
lack of the means of subsistence; utter poverty.
deprivation, lack, or absence.
Origin of destitution
1Opposites for destitution
Other words from destitution
- pre·des·ti·tu·tion, noun
Words Nearby destitution
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use destitution in a sentence
But, after Vaello-Madero became seriously ill in 2011 and was unable to work, SSI was his lifeline against destitution.
The surprisingly high stakes in a Supreme Court case about $28,000 | Ian Millhiser | November 5, 2021 | VoxShe said she is in touch with many former miners, some of whom fell into destitution after the last mine here closed.
COP26 host U.K. pledges to phase out coal power while considering its first new coal mine in 30 years | Karla Adam | November 4, 2021 | Washington PostFor male subjects, “we found that the cash alone—which is quite a lot of money given their destitution—barely improves psychosocial well-being,” she says.
Pairing economics with empathy to study life in the developing world | Alissa Greenberg | August 24, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewSome of the densest clusters of destitution, home to what Booth uncharitably described as “vicious and semi-criminal” classes, are in the north of Lambeth, where modern studio flats cost north of a million pounds.
Traditionally, this “instant divorce,” as it is often called, could banish women to a life of destitution, given many women’s struggles to own property in their own name or to find profitable work.
As he notes, these benefits are key to countless families who would otherwise fall into destitution.
Obama to Congress: Do Your Job and Extend Unemployment Benefits | Jamelle Bouie | January 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNow she just wants the neo homeless to get back under a roof before they become acclimated to destitution.
A Dickensian Christmas For Greece’s New Poor | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTArtemis Stefanoudaki, a 38-year-old photographer, lives on the razor-thin margin between poverty and destitution.
A Dickensian Christmas For Greece’s New Poor | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 22, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe new forces controlled by mankind have been powerless as yet to remove want and destitution, hard work and social discontent.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockAlthough bordering on the lowest state of destitution—and that is a remarkably low state in London!
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. BallantyneFrom every rank in society they had gravitated—but all were stamped with the same brand—destitution!
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. BallantyneAll that was pitiable and miserable in the land, sunken alike by ignorance and destitution.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. | E. Farr and E. H. NolanAn interesting feature of this case is the vagueness of the term "in need of relief," instead of "destitution."
English Poor Law Policy | Sidney Webb
British Dictionary definitions for destitution
/ (ˌdɛstɪˈtjuːʃən) /
the state of being destitute; utter poverty
rare lack or deficiency
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
Browse