indigence
Americannoun
Usage
What are other ways to say indigence? Indigence refers to a seriously impoverished condition. How is it different from the synonyms poverty and destitution? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Etymology
Origin of indigence
1325–75; Middle English < Latin indigentia need. See indigent, -ence
Explanation
Indigence is a synonym for extreme poverty. If you experience indigence, you have a critical need for food, money, and other resources. To correctly pronounce indigence, accent the first syllable: "IN-dih-genz." It means "great lack of material resources," like money. Indigence a noun, and indigent, an adjective, are related words that have to do with need. If you are indigent — suffering from extreme poverty — you are living in indigence, the state of extreme poverty.
Vocabulary lists containing indigence
Walden
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The Horse and His Boy
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Oliver Twist
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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.
When the infantine Peasantry ran, And roll'd on the daisy-deck'd Green: Ah! sure 'twas fell Envy's despite, Lest Indigence tasted of Bliss, That sternly decreed they've no right To innocent pleasure like this.
From An Essay on War, in Blank Verse; Honington Green, a Ballad; the Culprit, an Elegy; and Other Poems, on Various Subjects by Bloomfield, Nathaniel
Poverty, or according to the definition of writers on Police, Indigence may be said to be the nurse of almost all crimes.
From A Historical Survey of the Customs, Habits, & Present State of the Gypsies by Hoyland, John
Indigence will find its way and set up its hideous state in the heart of a great and luxurious city.
From The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844 with a Preface written in 1892 by Kelley, Florence
I make no mention of the rich man in Signor Mercier's comedy of Indigence, who found it impossible to write a letter of the utmost importance because his secretary was away from home.
From The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the First by Gozzi, Carlo
Still had Labour been blest with Content, Still Competence happy had been, Nor Indigence utter'd a plaint, Had Avarice spar'd but the Green.
From An Essay on War, in Blank Verse; Honington Green, a Ballad; the Culprit, an Elegy; and Other Poems, on Various Subjects by Bloomfield, Nathaniel
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.
