underprivileged
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of underprivileged
First recorded in 1920–25; under- + privileged
Explanation
Someone underprivileged doesn't have the advantages other people have. Underprivileged people usually live in poverty. A privilege is a right or an advantage, and people who are underprivileged lack such rights and advantages. Many times, this word is used as a synonym for poor. People often worry about underprivileged children who are living in poverty and may not have access to healthy food or good medical care. Underprivileged children often go to the worst schools too, which is another disadvantage.
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.
The Society for Community Organisation, an NGO that works with underprivileged groups, said the reform could help alleviate some of the worst living environments in Hong Kong.
From Barron's • May 28, 2026
The casualties include Bijay Ghimere, the first mountaineer from Nepal's underprivileged Hindu Dalit community to scale Everest.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Outside of work, Christides teaches yoga and surfing to underprivileged youth.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
The American system of philanthropy is partly responsible for museums, hospitals, schools and relief for the country’s underprivileged.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Corporal Whitcomb, an atheist, was a disgruntled subordinate who felt he could do the chaplain’s job much better than the chaplain was doing it and viewed himself, therefore, as an underprivileged victim of social inequity.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
