deprived

USAGE SUMMARY

The part of the phrase "deprived" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it to describe someone or something that lacks necessary resources, support, or basic needs. Example: "The children in the area were deprived of proper education." Alternative expressions include "lacking," "denied," and "robbed of."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

I almost think the more deprived and edgy the better.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

Salmond was stunned by the unexpected concession, which seemed to have deprived him of the opportunity to attack Westminster for meddling in Scottish matters.

The Guardian

Striker Davie Dodds left for Neuchatel Xamax of Switzerland, although just four months later he would be back in Scotland with Aberdeen, and just a few weeks into the start of the new season, defender Richard Gough moved to Tottenham for £700,000, bucking the trend at the time that had seen players based in England moving north due to being deprived of European football.

The Guardian - Sport

Three-quarters of plans were in the south of England, where the need for housing is greatest and only nine of the published plans were in areas described as "most deprived".

The Guardian

I love the challenge of working in schools in deprived areas.

The Guardian

I want these children to be successful, to go to university, do apprenticeships and stay in Skerne Park, so in 10 years time the area is no longer deprived.

The Guardian

According to the report, this means that the UK could be deprived of 42,000 successful female entrepreneurs by 2050.

The Guardian

It takes health services to the streets of some of the UK's most deprived areas, to reach the children who are most in need of support but least likely to get it.

The Guardian

SBD has its roots in the idea of "defensible space", created by the American architect and town planner Oscar Newman in the early 1970s, as a result of research he carried out in three deprived New York housing projects.

The Guardian

Fifteen minutes away from the spruced-up centre of Lille, around the Gambetta metro station, you could be in any deprived town in the north of England.

The Guardian

From this reference, we can deduce that the OLC authored a separate drone memo assessing – and dispensing with – the proposition that an American citizen had the right not to be deprived of his life without some form of judicial process.

The Guardian - Opinion

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use the standalone adjective to describe geographic areas or social groups experiencing economic hardship, such as "deprived neighborhoods" or "economically deprived children".

Common error

Avoid using "deprived" when you mean "depraved". While the former describes someone lacking resources or rights, "depraved" describes someone who is morally corrupt or wicked. These are not interchangeable and carry very different connotations.

Linguistic Context

The word "deprived" functions as a descriptive adjective or as the past participle of the verb "deprive". In the examples provided by Ludwig, it frequently modifies nouns to indicate a state of disadvantage or lack, particularly in social and economic contexts.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

85%

Formal & Business

10%

Academia

5%

Less common in

Wiki

5%

Social Media

3%

Science

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

Based on the comprehensive data from Ludwig, "deprived" is a robust and essential term in the English language for discussing socio-economic disadvantage and the removal of rights. Ludwig AI highlights that it is most effective when paired with the preposition "of" or used as a qualifier for areas and populations facing hardship. Whether used in the context of "deprived areas", "sleep deprivation" or being "deprived of liberty", the term conveys a serious and often systemic lack. Its high frequency in authoritative news sources confirms its reliability for formal, journalistic and academic writing. Writers should be careful not to confuse it with the phonetically similar but semantically distinct word "depraved".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

impoverished

Suggests a state of extreme poverty and exhaustion of resources.

disadvantaged

Often used in social policy to describe people lacking opportunities.

underprivileged

Refers specifically to lacking the rights and advantages others have.

stripped of

Emphasizes the active removal of something previously possessed.

destitute

A much stronger term implying a complete lack of any means of subsistence.

robbed of

Adds a sense of injustice or criminality to the state of deprivation.

lacking

A more general and less intense way to describe the absence of something.

denied

Focuses on the refusal to grant a right or resource.

bereft of

Usually describes a profound, often emotional or abstract, sense of loss.

needy

A more informal term describing those requiring financial or emotional support.

FAQs

What can I say instead of "deprived"?

Depending on the context, you can use synonyms like "<a href="/s/impoverished" target="_blank" rel="alternative">impoverished", "<a href="/s/disadvantaged" target="_blank" rel="alternative">disadvantaged" or "<a href="/s/underprivileged" target="_blank" rel="alternative">underprivileged".

Is it correct to say "deprived from"?

Generally, no. In English, the standard idiomatic construction is "deprived of". Using "<a href="/s/deprived+of" target="_blank" rel="alternative">deprived of" ensures your writing sounds natural and remains grammatically accurate.

What is the difference between "deprived" and "poor"?

While both relate to a lack of money, "deprived" is often broader, implying a lack of basic necessities, social rights and opportunities that go beyond just a low income. Using "<a href="/s/impoverished" target="_blank" rel="alternative">impoverished" is another way to emphasize this complexity.

How do you use "deprived" in a sentence about health?

It is frequently used to describe a lack of essential physical needs, such as being "<a href="/s/sleep+deprived" target="_blank" rel="alternative">sleep deprived" or describing a body "<a href="/s/deprived+of+oxygen" target="_blank" rel="alternative">deprived of oxygen".