destitute
pronunciation
How to pronounce destitute in British English:
UK [ˈdestɪtju:t]
How to pronounce destitute in American English:
US [ˈdestɪtut]
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- Adjective:
- poor enough to need help from others
Word Origin
- destitute
- destitute: see statue
- destitute (adj.)
- late 14c., "abandoned, forsaken," from Latin destitutus "abandoned," past participle of destituere "forsake," from de- "away" + statuere "put, place," causative of stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Originally literal; sense of "lacking resources, impoverished" is 1530s.
Example
- 1. Though destitute , north korea is ploughing ahead with its nuclear-weapons programme .
- 2. She even intervened on various occasions on behalf of women who were destitute .
- 3. Each day , 1370 people arrive in chongqing , china , most destitute and looking for any kind of work .
- 4. He said he was willing to lend slightly more money to the most destitute because their yellow ration booklets made him eligible for the full 77 pounds of grain the most available in a tiered rationing system .
- 5. Destitute north korea 's push to breathe new life into its economic relationships with china and russia appears to be bearing fruit in the far north of the country , where foreigners are helping to rebuild the region 's creaking infrastructure .