deprived
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deprived
Explanation
Being deprived means lacking important things like food and water. For example, when warm clothing, housing, and nutrition are in short supply, the people are deprived of basics of life. You can use the adjective deprived to describe conditions or people who don’t have what they need or don't have enough. Some uses of deprived are for small things, like when you're deprived of dessert because you didn’t eat your vegetables, but most of the time deprived describes a very serious lack of essential things or services.
Vocabulary lists containing deprived
The Bill of Rights
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Donald Trump Inauguration Address- January 20, 2017
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Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Syllabus
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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.
"This service is already making a real impact, particularly for women living in more deprived communities, by making contraception easier to access closer to home," she added.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Anne-Claire Le Jeune, who represents six women who had made complaints about Siad, said victims had been deprived of justice.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
As such, the U.S. team was deprived of the opportunity to rise to the occasion in epic fashion as Americans have so frequently done.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
As a facultative anaerobic bacterium, it thrives in both oxygen rich and oxygen poor environments, allowing it to multiply inside the oxygen deprived regions commonly found within tumors.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Presumably the human embryo deprived of oxygen may also develop congenital deformities.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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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.