Definition of 'destitute'
adjective
Someone who is destitute has no money or possessions.
[formal]
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
destitute in American English
adjective
1.
not having; being without; lacking (with of)
destitute of trees
2.
SIMILAR WORDS: poor
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME < L destitutus, pp. of destituere, to forsake, abandon < de-, down, away + statuere, to set, place: see statuteWord Frequency
destitute in American English
(ˈdestɪˌtuːt, -ˌtjuːt) (verb -tuted, -tuting)
adjective
1.
without means of subsistence; lacking food, clothing, and shelter
transitive verb
SYNONYMS 1. needy, poor, indigent, necessitous, penniless, impoverished. 2. deficient.ANTONYMS 1. affluent.3.
to leave destitute
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
destitutely adverb
destituteness
noun
Word origin
[1350–1400; ME ‹ L dēstitūtus (ptp. of dēstituere to abandon, deprive of support), equiv. to dē- de- + stit- place, put (comb. form of statuere; see statute) + -ū- thematic vowel + -tus ptp. suffix]Word Frequency
destitute in British English
adjective
1.
lacking the means of subsistence; totally impoverished
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
destituteness (ˈdestiˌtuteness) noun
Word origin
C14: from Latin dēstitūtus forsaken, from dēstituere to leave alone, from statuere to place
Examples of 'destitute' in a sentence
destitute
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In other languages
destitute
British English: destitute
ADJECTIVE /ˈdɛstɪˌtjuːt/
Someone who is destitute has no money or possessions.
...destitute children who live on the streets.
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Definition of destitute from the Collins English Dictionary
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