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indigent

[ in-di-juhnt ]
/ ˈɪn dɪ dʒənt /
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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.

RELATED WORDS

needy, penniless, impoverished, destitute, poverty-stricken, homeless, impecunious, penurious, necessitous, beggared, busted

Nearby words

  1. indigency,
  2. indigene,
  3. indigenize,
  4. indigenous,
  5. indigenous australian,
  6. indigently,
  7. indigested,
  8. indigestible,
  9. indigestion,
  10. indigestive

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
Related formsin·di·gent·ly, adverb
Can be confusedindigence indigentsindigent indignant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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 Formsindigence, 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
Word Origin and History for indigent

indigent

adj.

c.1400, from Old French indigent, from Latin indigentem (see indigence). As a noun, "poor person," from early 15c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper