different between sadness vs destitution

English

Etymology

From Middle English sadnesse, equivalent to sad +? -ness.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sædn?s/

Noun

sadness (countable and uncountable, plural sadnesses)

1. (uncountable) The state or emotion of being sad.

   Synonyms: forlornness, melancholy

2. (countable) An event in one's life that causes sadness.

   Synonyms: misfortune, woe

Translations

English

Etymology

From Old French destitution, from Latin d?stit?ti? (“abandoning”), from d?stitu?.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /d?st??tu???n/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /d?st??tju???n/, /d?st??t?u???n/

Noun

destitution (countable and uncountable, plural destitutions)

1. (obsolete) The action of deserting or abandoning.
2. (now rare) Discharge from office; dismissal.
3. The condition of lacking something.
   • 1906, ‘Mark Twain’, in The Bible According to Mark Twain, 1996, p. 330:

     He requires of his fellow man obedience to a very creditable code of morals, but he observes without shame or disapproval his God's utter destitution of morals.

4. An extreme state of poverty, in which a person is almost completely lacking in resources or means of support.
   • 2009, Rahila Gupta, The Guardian, 4 Aug 2009:

     Destitution forces many asylum seekers to end up working for extremely low wages in catering, cleaning and construction, for example, without any protection against unscrupulous employers.

Related terms

• destitute

Translations

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?stit?ti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?s.ti.ty.sj??/

Noun

destitution f (plural destitutions)

1. discharge, dismissal
2. deposition (of a politician etc.)

Further reading

• “destitution” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).