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Meaning & use

deprived

adjective, verb·Academic

Last updated

UK/dɪˈpraɪvd/
US/dɪˈpraɪvd/

Meanings

  1. adjectivecomparable

    Not having enough of the basic things people need for a decent life, such as food, housing, schooling or money.

    Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a deprived area, a deprived childhood.

    Patterns

    • a deprived area
    • a deprived childhood
    • deprived of something

    Charities support children from deprived neighborhoods.

    He grew up in a deprived area with few schools.

    The program helps families in the most deprived regions.

  2. adjectiveafter a verb

    Lacking something that you need or enjoy, used with of or as the second part of a compound.

    Grammar: Often followed by of: deprived of sleep. It also appears in compounds such as sleep-deprived.

    Patterns

    • be deprived of something
    • sleep-deprived

    The prisoners were deprived of daylight for weeks.

    I feel deprived of good coffee on this trip.

    Sleep-deprived drivers are a danger on the road.

  3. verbtransitive

    Past tense and past participle of deprive: took something away from someone or prevented them from having it.

    Grammar: Takes an object and of: the storm deprived the town of power.

    Patterns

    • deprive someone of something

    The strike deprived passengers of their usual service.

    Poor health deprived him of a normal childhood.

    The long winter deprived the animals of food.

Word forms

comparativemore deprived
superlativemost deprived

Common combinations

deprived area
The school is in a deprived area of the city.
deprived of sleep
The new parents were deprived of sleep for months.
deprived childhood
She had a deprived childhood but became a doctor.
sleep-deprived
A sleep-deprived student fell asleep in class.
socially deprived
The report studies socially deprived communities.
deprived of oxygen
The brain was deprived of oxygen for a short time.

Synonyms and how they differ

disadvantaged
Disadvantaged is a polite, official word for people lacking opportunities, while deprived stresses the lack of basic things.
impoverished
Impoverished focuses on lacking money, whereas deprived can also cover education, care or sleep.
underprivileged
Underprivileged suggests lacking benefits that other people have, while deprived suggests lacking essentials.
needy
Needy describes people who lack money or help, but is usually used for individuals and can sound judgmental.

Opposites

privilegedwell-off

Word family

deprive verb
To take something away from someone or stop them having it
deprivation noun
The state of lacking basic needs
privation noun
A lack of basic comforts or necessities

Commonly confused: deprived or depraved? deprived or derived?

deprived vs depraved

Depraved means morally bad or corrupt and is unrelated to lacking things.

deprived vs derived

Derived means obtained or developed from something else, as in a word derived from Latin.

Practice

The charity works with children from ____ areas where many families struggle to afford food.

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