indigence
/ˈɪndɪd͡ʒəns/
"indigence" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“indigence” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Extreme poverty or destitution.
Corpus desk
Index EN-indigence · indigence · English
indigence · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "I" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | indigence |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɪndɪd͡ʒəns/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “indigence” in English
Rare enough to double-check
indigence is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɪndɪd͡ʒəns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Extreme poverty or destitution.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for indigence, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English indigence, late 14th century, from Old French indigence (13th century), from Latin indigentia, from indigentem, form of indigēre (“to need”), from indu (“in, within”) + egēre (“be in need, want”). Only relation to antonym affluence is co… The correct English form is indigence, spelled I-N-D-I-G-E-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1Extreme poverty or destitution.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how indigence appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
On Professor Solanka’s street, well-heeled white youths lounged in baggy garments on roseate stoops, stylishly simulating indigence while they waited for the billionairedom that would surely be along sometime soon.
Etymology
From Middle English indigence, late 14th century, from Old French indigence (13th century), from Latin indigentia, from indigentem, form of indigēre (“to need”), from indu (“in, within”) + egēre (“be in need, want”). Only relation to antonym affluence is common Latinate suffix + -ence.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.