indigent

[ in-di-juhnt ]
/ ˈɪn dɪ dʒənt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR indigent ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

lacking food, clothing, and other necessities of life because of poverty; needy; poor; impoverished.
Archaic.
  1. deficient in what is requisite.
  2. destitute (usually followed by of).

noun

a person who is indigent.

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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

indigence, indigene, indigenize, indigenous, Indigenous Australian, indigent, indigested, indigestible, indigestion, indigestive, indign
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to indigent

needy, penniless, impoverished, destitute, poverty-stricken, hard up, homeless, impecunious, penurious, necessitous, beggared, busted, down and out, flat broke

Example sentences from the Web for indigent

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