as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
because he was indigent, the court appointed a lawyer to represent him
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pauper
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of indigent
Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
Unless the debtor is clearly indigent, most litigators will not spend a second considering if the judgment is collectable, much less hiring a private investigator first to determine if this is so.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for indigent
Adjective
Lower than proletariat workers, the lumpenproletariat includes the indigent and the unemployable, those cast out of the workforce with no recourse, or those who can’t enter it in the first place, such as young workers in times of economic depression.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
Fifteen years ago, Mexican attorney Alma Barraza immersed herself in a legal fight to win fair compensation for indigent villagers who lost their property when the government seized land to build a dam.
—Ray Long, Chicago Tribune, 3 Sep. 2025
Unless the debtor is clearly indigent, most litigators will not spend a second considering if the judgment is collectable, much less hiring a private investigator first to determine if this is so.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for indigent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indigent
Adjective
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The film, which world premiered in the Berlinale’s Perspectives sidebar, follows an impoverished but determined family put to test when the father, who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, is accused of murder.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
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Sanctions have crippled the government’s primary source of revenue, oil exports, limiting the state’s ability to provide for millions of impoverished Iranians through social safety nets.—
Leila Gharagozlou,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There were also prisoners, paupers and unclaimed bodies who went into mass graves, including remains of 39,307 Catholics at Holy Cross.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
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Instead, town officials buried him in a pauper’s grave.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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There’s another element of the current concern regarding due process that relates to the fate of poor Cinna.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Oct. 2025
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McDaniel’s debut album Lost Ones delves into his own story of growing up in a poor community in Kentucky, and dealing with mental health struggles, both personally and within his family — as well as McDaniel’s story of being saved during a past suicide attempt years ago.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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With fewer homes available for median earners, today's housing market is widening the gap between the haves and have-nots, with younger Americans less likely to buy a home, the study says.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
21 Aug. 2025
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Based on the video game from Bethesda Game Studios, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Indigent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indigent. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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