1. (noun)indigence, need, penury, pauperism, pauperization a state of extremepoverty or destitution "their indigence appalled him"; "a general state of need exists among the homeless"
Definitions of 'indigence'
Webster 1913 Dictionary
1. (noun)indigence the condition of being indigent; want of estate, or means of comfortable subsistence; penury; poverty; as, helpless, indigence