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Synonyms

deprived

American  
[dih-prahyvd] / dɪˈpraɪvd /

adjective

  1. marked by deprivation; lacking the necessities of life, as adequate food and shelter.

    a deprived childhood.


deprived British  
/ dɪˈpraɪvd /

adjective

  1. lacking adequate food, shelter, education, etc

    deprived inner-city areas

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of deprived

First recorded in 1545–55; deprive + -ed 2

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.

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Vocabulary lists containing deprived

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.

See Examples For:

"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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