Dictionary
indigence
noun in·di·gence \ˈin-di-jən(t)s\
Definition of INDIGENCE
: a level of poverty in which real hardship and deprivation are suffered and comforts of life are wholly lacking
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First Known Use of INDIGENCE
14th century
Related to INDIGENCE
- Synonyms
- beggary, destituteness, destitution, impecuniosity, impecuniousness, impoverishment, poverty, necessity, need, neediness, pauperism, penuriousness, penury, poorness, want
- Antonyms
- affluence, opulence, richness, wealth, wealthiness
Synonym Discussion of INDIGENCE
poverty, indigence, penury, want, destitution mean the state of one with insufficient resources. poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts <the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers>. indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances <the indigence of her years as a graduate student>. penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money <a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury>. want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure <lived in a perpetual state of want> <the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine>.
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