indigent
/ˈɪndɪd͡ʒənt/adjective, noun
indigent is spelled I-N-D-I-G-E-N-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, indigent means “Poor; destitute; in need” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in indigent?
| Letters | 8: I-N-D-I-G-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is indigent?
Indigent appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce indigent?
- /ˈɪndɪd͡ʒənt/
- /ɪnˈd(a)ɪd͡ʒənt/
Indigent has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-indigent.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of indigent
- more indigent comparative
- most indigent superlative
- indigents plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does indigent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Poor; destitute; in need.
- 2
archaicUtterly lacking or in need of something specified.
noun
- 1
A person in need, or in poverty.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Indigent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense poor; destitute:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nécessiteux, indigent |
| German | bedürftig, mittellos, arm, notleidend, Not leidend, hilfsbedürftig |
| Portuguese | indigente |
| Spanish | indigente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does indigent come from?
From Middle English indigent, from Old French indigent, from Latin indigēns, present participle of indigeō (“to need”), from indu (“in, within”) + egeō (“to be in need, want”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).