deprived

deprived — adjective

1. describes a person, family, or community that does not have the basic conditions

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a person, family, or community that does not have the basic conditions and resources needed to live a decent life — for example, enough food, a home, education, or money.

Example

Children from deprived areas often have less access to good schools.

collocation: deprived area / deprived neighbourhood

The charity provides food and books to deprived families across the city.

collocation: deprived family / deprived community

Common collocations
  • deprived area
  • deprived neighbourhood
  • deprived family
  • deprived child
  • deprived background
  • deprived community
  • deprived region
  • deprived part of the city
Synonyms
  • disadvantaged

    broader term that includes lack of opportunities and social barriers, not just material needs

  • underprivileged

    more formal; often used about groups that have fewer rights and chances than others

  • needy

    stronger focus on lack of money and food; can sound more emotional or pitying

  • impoverished

    more extreme; describes very severe poverty, often of a country or large area

Antonyms
  • privileged

    having special advantages and opportunities that others do not have

  • affluent

    having plenty of money, comfortable homes, and a high standard of living

Grammar Patterns

deprived + noun (attributive)

be deprived + of + noun (complement)

Usage Note

Commonly placed before nouns such as area, neighbourhood, family, community, and background to describe long-term lack of resources. Unlike temporary shortage, this adjective implies a lasting condition that affects quality of life. The pattern 'deprived of + noun' is also used when specifying what is lacking (e.g. 'children deprived of proper education').

Common Mistakes

He felt deprived after missing lunch.
He felt hungry after missing lunch.
deprived describes a serious, long-term lack, not a temporary feeling.
The writer was depraved of sleep.
The writer was deprived of sleep.
'deprived' (lacking) is often confused with 'depraved' (morally corrupt).

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe a lack of basic resources, but they differ in scope and register. Disadvantaged is the broadest — it covers not only material poverty but also social barriers such as discrimination or lack of education. Underprivileged is more formal and often appears in policy or sociology contexts (e.g. 'underprivileged students'). Needy focuses almost exclusively on insufficient money and food and can sound emotional when applied to individuals. Impoverished is the strongest term, typically used for regions or countries suffering extreme, widespread poverty. In a sentence: 'The charity focuses on needy families in winter.' But: 'Government policies aim to help disadvantaged communities break the cycle of poverty.'

disadvantagedunderprivilegedneedy ↗impoverished

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • from a deprived background
  • in a deprived area
  • children from deprived homes

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Deprived comes from the Latin verb deprivare, formed from de- ('away, off') and privare ('to separate, take away from'). It entered English through French in the 14th century. The adjective sense describing a condition of poverty or lack has been in use since the 16th century.