indigent

[ in-di-juhnt ]

/ ˈɪn dɪ dʒənt /

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See synonyms for: indigent / indigents on Thesaurus.com

adjective

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

Archaic.

deficient in what is requisite.
destitute (usually followed by of).

noun

a person who is indigent.

OTHER WORDS FOR indigent

1 necessitous, penurious, distressed.

See synonyms for indigent on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of indigent

1350–1400; Middle English <Latin indigent- (stem of indigēns) present participle of indigēre to need, lack, be poor, equivalent to ind- by-form of in-in-² (cf. indagate) + -ig- (combining form of egēre to need, lack) + -ent--ent

OTHER WORDS FROM indigent

in·di·gent·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH indigent

1. indigence, indigents 2. indigent , indignant

Words nearby indigent

indigene, indigenize, indigenous, Indigenous Australian, Indigenous Peoples' Day, indigent, indigested, indigestible, indigestion, indigestive, indign

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

How to use indigent in a sentence

Each month, the agency sends lists of the eligible attorneys on each panel to the courthouses so clerks can base assignments for indigent defendants on them.
Lawyers Who Were Ineligible to Handle Serious Criminal Charges Were Given Thousands of These Cases Anyway|by Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica|February 23, 2021|ProPublica
In the late 19th century, dying at a hospital was reserved for indigents, the people who had nothing and no one.
How to Be Better at Death (Ep. 450)|Maria Konnikova|February 4, 2021|Freakonomics
No one in the county’s indigent health care program was looking to revamp the system or to invest in telehealth at the time, he said.
The COVID-19 Charmer: How a Self-Described Felon Convinced Elected Officials to Try to Help Him Profit From the Pandemic|by Vianna Davila, Jeremy Schwartz and Lexi Churchill|September 25, 2020|ProPublica
He said his company’s services, which included remote patient monitoring, could ultimately reduce the county’s indigent care costs.
The COVID-19 Charmer: How a Self-Described Felon Convinced Elected Officials to Try to Help Him Profit From the Pandemic|by Vianna Davila, Jeremy Schwartz and Lexi Churchill|September 25, 2020|ProPublica

Hays County has a contract with the hospital to provide the county’s indigent care.
The COVID-19 Charmer: How a Self-Described Felon Convinced Elected Officials to Try to Help Him Profit From the Pandemic|by Vianna Davila, Jeremy Schwartz and Lexi Churchill|September 25, 2020|ProPublica
The lawyers of ArchCity Defenders specialize in representing the indigent and the homeless.
Ferguson Feeds Off the Poor: Three Warrants a Year Per Household|Michael Daly|August 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In addition, many Texans believed that the role of helping the indigent belonged to the church.
How Religion Turned Texas Red|William O’Connor|August 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She emphasizes that the indigent detainees who will benefit from this program are not all undocumented.
New York City Letting Immigrants Lawyer Up for Free|Caitlin Dickson|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For instance, minority doctors are more likely to go on to work among indigent or underserved populations after medical school.
With Arsenio Hall Out, Late Night Becomes All White and Male—and So What?|Keli Goff|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Herrera is seeking to have the city reimbursed for its care of indigent patients it claims were dumped there by Nevada.
Nevada Sued for ‘Greyhound Therapy’ for Mentally Ill Patients|John L. Smith|September 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
We make fast the doors of our lighted houses against the indigent and the hungry.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
The indigent Jakut exchanges his most valuable furs and skins for a few ounces of the "Circassian weed."
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
And to make good infantry, it requireth men bred, not in a servile or indigent fashion, but in some free and plentiful manner.
Landholding In England|Joseph Fisher
John Porteous was born of indigent parents near the city of Edinburgh; and he served his time as an apprentice to a tailor.
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 1/2|Camden Pelham
Rail not at a guest, nor from thy gate thrust him; treat well the indigent; they will speak well of thee.
The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson|Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre Sturleson

British Dictionary definitions for indigent

indigent

/ (ˈɪndɪdʒənt) /

adjective

so poor as to lack even necessities; very needy

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

noun

an impoverished person

Derived forms of indigent

indigence, nounindigently, adverb

Word Origin for indigent

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

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

indigent

OTHER WORDS FOR indigent

Origin of indigent

OTHER WORDS FROM indigent

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH indigent

Words nearby indigent

Words related to indigent

How to use indigent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for indigent

Derived forms of indigent

Word Origin for indigent