destitute

adjective

des·​ti·​tute ˈde-stə-ˌtüt How to pronounce destitute (audio)
-ˌt(y)üt
1
: lacking something needed or desirable
a lake destitute of fish
2
: lacking possessions and resources
especially : suffering extreme poverty
a destitute old man
destituteness noun

Did you know?

You may be surprised to learn that "destitute" is related to words like "statue," "statute," and even "statistics." The Latin word status, meaning "position" or "state," is the source of these and other English words. Some terms of this family are directly related to "status," while others come to English through "statuere," a Latin derivative of "status" that means "to set up." "Destitute" came from "destituere" ("to abandon" or "to deprive"), a joining of "statuere" and the prefix de- ("from, down, away"). "Statuere" also gave us "constitute," "institute," and "restitution," among other similar-sounding words.

Examples of destitute in a Sentence

His business failures left him destitute. many families were left destitute by the horrible fire
Recent Examples on the Web In Rafah zoo, dozens of destitute Gazans are camping between the cages where starving monkeys, parrots and lions cry out for food 12 weeks into Israel’s offensive. NBC News, 2 Jan. 2024 In it, Laura, a destitute young single mother who has come to Havana a couple of years before – her part time job hardly pays the rent – gets to know an elderly neighbour, who has spent her life supporting Castro’s revolution but now is old and alone, suffering Alzheimer’s dementia. John Hopewell, Variety, 9 Jan. 2024 California created the nation’s only pension plan for retired boxers but has failed to locate and inform eligible boxers, some of whom are destitute, disabled, or both. Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2024 Dog meat was once more common, and remained so in the decades after the Korean War when the country was destitute and meat was scarce. John Yoon, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2024 New York City, Chicago, Denver and other cities have struggled to house destitute Venezuelan migrants, most of whom don't have family members or friends in the U.S. who can take them in. Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 14 Nov. 2023 Forging a life in America, the Wus never lost the desire to help their destitute countrymen. Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Oct. 2023 Then came a wave of noisy street demonstrations featuring destitute pensioners paid to chant for the removal of their country’s pro-Western president. Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2023 The cities' struggles to house tens of thousands of destitute migrants, and their growing calls for federal action, have also placed mounting pressure on the Biden administration to intervene. Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 22 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'destitute.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin destitutus, past participle of destituere to abandon, deprive, from de- + statuere to set up — more at statute

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of destitute was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near destitute

Cite this Entry

“Destitute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/destitute. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

destitute

adjective
des·​ti·​tute ˈdes-tə-ˌt(y)üt How to pronounce destitute (audio)
1
: lacking something needed or desirable
destitute of the necessities of life
2
: extremely poor : suffering great want
destitution
ˌdes-tə-ˈt(y)ü-shən
noun

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