noun
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the state of being destitute; utter poverty
-
rare lack or deficiency
Usage
What are other ways to say destitution? Destitution is utter poverty or the lack of the means of subsistence. How does this noun compare to synonyms poverty and indigence? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- predestitution noun
Etymology
Origin of destitution
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin dēstitūtiōn- (stem of dēstitūtiō ) an abandoning, equivalent to dēstitūt ( us ) ( destitute ) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After years of insurgencies, residents in eastern Congo are accustomed to food shortages, inflation and destitution.
The policy was reversed, with the British Red Cross saying it had led to "devastating levels of destitution".
From BBC
"If we violate the ban, we face prison. If we comply, we face destitution," one unnamed farmer in Helmand province told BBC Pashto this summer.
From BBC
The UN-backed body said more than half a million people across Gaza were facing "catastrophic" conditions characterised by "starvation, destitution and death".
From BBC
Launching the first legal challenge against the deal in the High Court in London, his lawyers argued that there was a "real risk of destitution" if he was deported to France.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
