Deprived

How to spell deprived

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce deprived

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does deprived mean?

1. adjectiveSuffering from the lack of something considered essential, such as food, comfort, or opportunity.
2. verbPast tense of deprive: prevented someone from having or enjoying something.

Deprived in a sentence

• adjective

  The charity supports children from deprived neighbourhoods.

• verb

  The long commute deprived him of valuable family time each evening.

• adjective

  After a week of poor sleep she felt utterly deprived of rest.

• verb

  The strike deprived thousands of commuters of their usual train service.

Where does deprived come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb privare, which meant 'to take something from someone' or 'to strip away', built on privus, meaning 'individual' or 'one's own'. The Latin prefix de- intensified the sense, giving deprivare, roughly 'to take away completely'. English picked it up through Old French and medieval Latin in the 1400s, originally in church contexts where a cleric could be 'deprived' of his office. From there it broadened to its modern meaning of being denied something essential or beneficial. The same privus root underlies the everyday words 'private' and 'privilege', and the single letter that learners drop is the silent quality of the unstressed middle, though the spelling stays reassuringly regular as deprive plus -ed.

How the word is built

• de- (completely, away)
• priv (from Latin privare: to take from, strip)
• -ed (past participle/adjective suffix)