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
Margaret Shreiner, jsonline.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Fifteen years ago, Mexican attorney Alma Barraza immersed herself in a legal fight to win fair compensation for indigent villagers who lost their property when the government seized land to build a dam.
—Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for indigent
Adjective
In 2022 several indigent defendants lacking timely appointment of counsel filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin’s State Public Defender office, claiming an ongoing pattern of delays in appointing a public defender for open criminal cases around the state.
—Margaret Shreiner, jsonline.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Fifteen years ago, Mexican attorney Alma Barraza immersed herself in a legal fight to win fair compensation for indigent villagers who lost their property when the government seized land to build a dam.
—Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
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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All the struggling, impoverished Californians who wish their lives were better?—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
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The flood of people overwhelmed Bajo Chiquito, an impoverished community of 382 members of the Indigenous Emberá-Wounaan people.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Brian Niccol, the coffee chain boss, is paid a pauper’s sum of nearly $100 million.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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In it, novice nun Viridiana (Silvia Pinal) does her utmost to maintain her Catholic principles, but her lecherous uncle (Fernando Rey) and a motley assemblage of paupers force her to confront the limits of her idealism.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Ministry of Environment blamed this year’s surge on a poor acorn harvest – which drove a similar spate of attacks in 2023.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
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 15 Nov. 2025.
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