indigent

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɪndɪdʒənt/ UK /ˈɪndɪdʒənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
poor and needy; lacking the means of subsistence

The clinic offered free care to indigent families.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · poor and needy; lacking the... destitute impoverished needy poor penniless impecunious

Opposites

affluent wealthy prosperous rich

Word family

Derived forms indigentlyindigence

Related forms indigenceindigency

Etymology

From Old French indigent, from Latin indigens, present participle of indigere ('to be in need'), from indu- ('in') + egere ('to lack, want').

indigere Latin egere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# indigent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɪndɪdʒənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɪndɪdʒənt/

## Meanings
1. poor and needy; lacking the means of subsistence

## Examples
- The clinic offered free care to indigent families.

## Synonyms
- destitute
- impoverished
- needy
- poor
- penniless
- impecunious

## Antonyms
- affluent
- wealthy
- prosperous
- rich

## Derived Forms
- indigently
- indigence

## Related Forms
- indigence
- indigency

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: indigere
- Root: egere

## Etymology
From Old French indigent, from Latin indigens, present participle of indigere ('to be in need'), from indu- ('in') + egere ('to lack, want').

## AI Etymology
indigent comes from Old French indigent, from Latin indigens, present participle of indigere ('to be in need'), from indu- ('in') + egere ('to lack, want'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: the word passes through the named languages and forms, with each stage preserving part of the modern shape. In present English, the adjective sense is "poor and needy; lacking the means of subsistence", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as indigence and indigency, and in derivatives such as indigently and indigence. Its semantic neighborhood includes destitute, impoverished, needy, and poor, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin indigere and Latin egere.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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