destitute
adj.having no money, food, or a home. You use this to describe someone who is extremely poor and lacks the basic things needed to live.
adj.lacking the basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter. Often used to describe a state of extreme poverty that follows a sudden loss of resources.
“The charity helps families who are left destitute by the war.”
“After the factory closed and his savings ran out, he found himself destitute and sleeping in his car.”
“The sudden collapse of the local economy left thousands of former middle-class workers destitute, forcing the government to implement emergency housing and food programs to prevent a humanitarian crisis.”
Often follows a linking verb like 'be', 'become', or 'find oneself'.
“You stayed married because that was what one did, and there were few alternatives that didn’t leave one spouse – usually the woman – socially ostracized and financially destitute.”
“In reference to the hundreds of destitute minors, Aina Vidal of the leftwing group Sumar, said: “They’re children, not invaders, not soldiers.”
From Middle English destitute, destitut, from Latin dēstitūtus.
From Middle English destituten, from the adjective (see above).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.