Underprivileged Meaning
/ˈʌndərprɪvlədʒd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjDeprived of the opportunities and advantages of others, usually through no fault of one's own.
nounA deprived person; deprived people (normally used as a plural).
Sentence Examples
The underprivileged beggar was not eligible for financial aid.
Wherever there has been censorship, the first people to suffer from it are underprivileged minorities.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The foundation aims to offer scholarships to ____ students from low-income families.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The charity works hard to provide opportunities for ____ children who live in many of the city's poorest areas today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- English privileged English underprivileged From under- + privileged.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Underprivileged, grew up in a Stapleton house village / Where blood flood the water in streets like oil spillage"
— 1996, “After the Smoke is Clear”, in Ironman, performed by Ghostface Killah:
"Since that time, both Catholicism and the Protestant denominations have seen an enormous outpouring of caritative agencies. Nuns and monks made teaching and care for the underprivileged a central part of their vocation; devout men and women have founded and devoted their lives to institutions as far removed as Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity and the Salvation Army."
— 2004, Phyllis G. Jestice, Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 183:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The foundation aims to offer scholarships to ____ students from low-income families.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The charity works hard to provide opportunities for ____ children who live in many of the city's poorest areas today.