as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
because he was indigent, the court appointed a lawyer to represent him
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pauper
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of indigent
Susan Ellenberg, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026
Bar advocates are private lawyers who take on the cases of indigent defendants on a contract basis.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 5 Apr. 2026
Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for indigent
Adjective
That’s why there’s an urgent need for the governor and Legislature to fund public hospitals and indigent care, and to ensure Californians remain enrolled.
—Susan Ellenberg, Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2026
Bar advocates are private lawyers who take on the cases of indigent defendants on a contract basis.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 5 Apr. 2026
Noun
Lower than proletariat workers, the lumpenproletariat includes the indigent and the unemployable, those cast out of the workforce with no recourse, or those who can’t enter it in the first place, such as young workers in times of economic depression.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for indigent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indigent
Adjective
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Transposing the book onto a contemporary setting, Jude’s take centers on an impoverished Romanian migrant, Gianina, played by a sensational Ana Dumitrașcu, who finds work as a housekeeper and au pair for a smugly bourgeois-bohemian couple living in Bordeaux.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
11 June 2026
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To ease the financial burden on the most impoverished, the government said tax exemptions would apply to micro-enterprises and those earning less than $680 a month.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Noun
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Bournemouth are not a pauper club any more, but the performance this season has still be remarkable.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
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The Titanic is still a subject of worldwide fascination, in part because of the range of passengers aboard the ship, from paupers to plutocrats.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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These conditions can increase your vulnerability to adverse effects from poor air quality.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Oc Register,
16 June 2026
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Equating the Holocaust to Gaza is in extremely poor taste.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
Noun
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With fewer homes available for median earners, today's housing market is widening the gap between the haves and have-nots, with younger Americans less likely to buy a home, the study says.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
21 Aug. 2025
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Based on the video game from Bethesda Game Studios, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Indigent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indigent. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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