English UsageGrammar guide

Destitute Of: Standard Pattern

Destitute Of: Standard Pattern records the directly documented construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.

Quick answer

Use formal “destitute of” to mean lacking something.

Key details

Confusion Familyusage-construction
Rule Familyadjective complement
Termsdestitute of

Further guidance

Construction

Use formal “destitute of” to mean lacking something.

Style Boundary

The main adjective “destitute” also means lacking money, food, a home, or other necessities without requiring an “of” complement, so this guide does not make “of” mandatory in every sense.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. destitute adjective — Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries (opens in a new tab)Oxford University Press · Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries evidence for formal destitute of meaning lacking something, distinct from the ordinary poverty sense without a complement.

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Absent From: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.

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Accountable For: Standard Pattern

Accountable For: Standard Pattern records the directly documented Cambridge construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced complement pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.

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Acquainted With: Standard Pattern

Acquainted With: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.

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Addicted To: Standard Pattern

Addicted To: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.

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Adept At: Standard Pattern

Adept At: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.

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Adjacent To: Standard Pattern

Adjacent To: Standard Pattern records the directly documented construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced complement pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.

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