Synonyms of destitution

destitution

noun

ˌde-stə-ˈtü-shən 

as in poverty

the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions

widespread destitution in Third World countries

Synonyms & Similar Words

• poverty
• misery
• impoverishment
• penury
• beggary
• necessity
• indigence
• pauperism
• neediness
• poorness
• deprivation
• impecuniosity
• need
• impecuniousness
• wretchedness
• penuriousness
• bankruptcy
• destituteness
• privation
• emergency
• exigency
• woe
• want
• gutter
• insolvency
• austerity
• rainy day
• pinching
• belt-tightening
• straitening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealth
• affluence
• opulence
• richness
• prosperity
• luxury
• wealthiness

Synonym Chooser

How is the word destitution distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of destitution are indigence, penury, poverty, and want. While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure.

lived in a perpetual state of want

the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

When might indigence be a better fit than destitution?

While the synonyms indigence and destitution are close in meaning, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

the indigence of her years as a graduate student

When could penury be used to replace destitution?

The meanings of penury and destitution largely overlap; however, penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.

a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

When can poverty be used instead of destitution?

The synonyms poverty and destitution are sometimes interchangeable, but poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of destitution

Between 1820 and 1845, the number of weavers plummeted from two hundred and forty thousand to sixty thousand, as many faced destitution. —John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025

Can this power be guided with care, augmenting the light alongside economic destitution? —John Werner, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025

Otherwise, Sacramento might be the one team on this list that isn’t too upset about middle-class life, not after the two decades of destitution preceding its 2023 ascent to the playoffs. —John Hollinger, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025

Beth has only one season to land a husband who will ensure that her family can avoid certain destitution. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 13 Dec. 2024