indigent

[in-di-juhnt]

See more 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.

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

Synonyms for indigent

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1. necessitous, penurious, distressed.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for indigent

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

Examples from the Web for indigent

Contemporary Examples of indigent

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
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
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
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
In New York, state law has authorized courts to appoint lawyers on behalf of indigent criminal defendants since 1881.
Fifty Years Later, Right to Lawyer Remains ‘Unfunded Mandate’
Chris Opfer
March 18, 2013

Historical Examples of indigent

Fancy a school for novelists, with night classes for indigent poets!
The Dominant Strain
Anna Chapin Ray
The windows without curtains had an indigent, sleepless look.
Under Western Eyes
Joseph Conrad
Whoever has need of another is indigent, and assumes a posture.
Diderot and the Encyclopdists
John Morley
At one period he realised about £10,000, but he was latterly unfortunate and indigent.
The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume V.
Various
He summed up in a disparaging glance the background of indigent furniture.
The Touchstone
Edith Wharton

British Dictionary definitions for indigent

indigent

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

adj.

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