destitute

[des-ti-toot, -tyoot] / ˈdɛs tɪˌtut, -ˌtyut /

ADJECTIVE

down and out; wanting

Synonyms

STRONGEST

bankrupt exhausted impoverished indigent insolvent needy penniless poor poverty-stricken strapped

WEAK

beggared bereft busted dead broke deficient depleted deprived of devoid of dirt poor divested drained empty flat flat broke impecunious in need of lacking moneyless necessitous on the breadline on the rocks penurious pinched played-out stony stripped totaled wiped-out without

Antonyms

STRONGEST

affluent rich solvent wealthy

WEAK

lucky prosperous secure

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.

My father, 75, is essentially destitute and in failing health.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 4, 2026

The Dominican nuns who run the kitchen prepare food for about 80 elderly or destitute people -- growing numbers of Cubans are forced to rummage through garbage bins for food -- each day.

From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026

"You go to an area like the Richtersveld… you see how destitute the people are," Mr Fredericks says.

From BBC • Dec. 14, 2025

Support would still be available for "those who are destitute" but will be withheld from those with permission to work who do not, and from people who break the law or defy removal directions.

From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025

Plantation owners were suddenly destitute, and state governments, shackled by war debt, were penniless.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Vocabulary lists containing destitute

A Christmas Carol

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Hamilton

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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

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