Meaning & use
indigent
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Extremely poor and lacking the basic resources needed for a decent standard of living.
Grammar: Common in legal, medical, and official writing before nouns such as defendant, patient, or family.
Patterns
- indigent defendant
- indigent patients
- indigent families
The court appointed counsel for the indigent defendant.
The clinic provides dental care to indigent patients.
The fund assists indigent families with heating bills during winter.
nouncountableformal
A person who is extremely poor; used in formal or official contexts.
Grammar: Usually singular with the in phrases like the indigent; avoid using it casually about a person.
Patterns
- aid for the indigent
- serve the indigent
The shelter was built to serve the indigent during severe weather.
Local charities distribute meals to the indigent each weekend.
The statute defines services available to the indigent.
Common combinations
- indigent defendant
- An indigent defendant may receive a court-appointed attorney.
- indigent patients
- The mobile unit screens indigent patients for high blood pressure.
- legal aid for the indigent
- The nonprofit offers legal aid for the indigent in housing disputes.
- serve the indigent
- The kitchen was founded to serve the indigent with dignity.
Synonyms and how they differ
- destitute
- Destitute is stronger, meaning without money, food, or shelter; indigent is formal and often official.
- impoverished
- Impoverished describes severe poverty or an area made poor; it can sound less bureaucratic than indigent.
- needy
- Needy is more everyday and can mean lacking necessities or attention; it is less extreme and less formal.
- poor
- Poor is neutral and broad; indigent specifically signals extreme poverty in formal contexts.
Opposites
Word family
- indigence noun
- Formal noun meaning severe poverty.
Commonly confused: indigent or indigenous?
indigent vs indigenous
Indigenous means native to a place or naturally occurring; indigent means extremely poor.
Practice
Because the defendant could not afford counsel, the judge confirmed that he was ___.
Choose one answer.
The sentence concerns inability to pay for a lawyer, so indigent fits. Indigenous means native, indignant means angry, and independent means self-supporting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “indigent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.