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
Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 5 Apr. 2026
The Justice Department has quietly gutted a more than 60-year-old program created to ensure that low-income and indigent immigrants can receive competent and affordable legal representation, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell CBS News.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026
Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for indigent
Adjective
Bar advocates are private lawyers who take on the cases of indigent defendants on a contract basis.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 5 Apr. 2026
The Justice Department has quietly gutted a more than 60-year-old program created to ensure that low-income and indigent immigrants can receive competent and affordable legal representation, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell CBS News.
—Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 23 Mar. 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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CalFresh is the state version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which sends an average $189 per month to low-income and impoverished Californians for food.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
26 May 2026
-
Rubio said Cuba’s current crisis should be blamed on the military officials behind GAESA, which has ransacked the country’s revenue for their benefit, leaving most Cubans impoverished.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
20 May 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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At this point the Red Sox are in serious danger, and the only reason the club is even within striking distance of a playoff spot is because the rest of the American League has been so poor.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
27 May 2026
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Putumayo is one of Colombia’s poorest and most troubled regions.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
27 May 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 2 Jun. 2026.
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