n. An extreme state of poverty, in which a person is almost completely lacking in resources or means of support.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. The state of being deprived of anything; the state or condition of being destitute, needy, or without resources; deficiency; lack; extreme poverty; utter want.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. Deprivation; absence of anything desired.
n. Deprivation of office; dismissal; discharge. See destitute, v., 2.
n. Deprivation or absence of means; indigence; poverty; want.
n.Synonyms Indigence, Penury, etc. (see poverty); privation, distress.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. a state without friends or money or prospects
Word Usage
"Those countries that still wallow in destitution and underdevelopment do so not because of western imperialism, racism or oppression but because of policies they have largely chosen for themselves by socialist planning or had forced upon them by civil war and revolution."