destitute

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparable

   Having no money, food, home, or other basic means of survival; extremely poor.

   Grammar: Absolute adjective; usually after be or before a noun: destitute families. Avoid more destitute in careful writing.

   Patterns

   • destitute families
   • left destitute
   • absolutely destitute
   • destitute refugees

   The flood left thousands destitute.

   Aid reached destitute families after the storm.

   Without work or savings, he became destitute.

2. 2adjectivenot comparableformalliterary

   Completely lacking a quality or thing; destitute of something.

   Grammar: Formal pattern destitute of + noun: destitute of hope. Do not use for ordinary absence.

   Patterns

   • destitute of hope
   • destitute of compassion
   • destitute of ideas

   The speech was destitute of practical proposals.

   He remained destitute of self-pity.

   The landscape seemed destitute of color.

Common combinations

destitute families

The charity delivered food to destitute families.

left destitute

Medical bills left the couple destitute.

absolutely destitute

After the fire, they were absolutely destitute.

destitute of hope

The report was not destitute of hope despite the losses.

Synonyms and how they differ

impoverished

Formal for made poor or kept in poverty; less absolute than destitute.

penniless

Having no money at all; can be temporary, while destitute implies lacking basic means to live.

poor

General and much less extreme; destitute suggests severe need.

needy

Lacking necessities and often used for people receiving help; softer than destitute.

Opposites

Word family

destitution noun

The state of being completely without means of survival.

Commonly confused: destitute or destitution?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “destitute”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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