homelessness

[ hohm-lis-nis ]
See synonyms for homelessness on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. lack of permanent housing, especially this condition generally as a matter of public concern: The city partners with community groups to offer resources for youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability.

  2. lack of a feeling of belonging; rootlessness or restlessness: He writes about a feeling of homelessness after immigration, when he felt neither firmly bound to his native culture nor fully adapted to the new one.

Origin of homelessness

1
First recorded in 1810–20; homeless + -ness

usage note For homelessness

See homeless.

Words Nearby homelessness

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use homelessness in a sentence

  • The homelessness of men, and even of inanimate vessels, cast away upon strange shores, came strongly in upon my mind.

  • The windows of the stores were thick with frost, and Albert shivered with a sense of homelessness.

  • I would ask you to note that in none of the five cases was bad motherhood caused by poverty and homelessness.

    Women's Wild Oats | C. Gasquoine Hartley
  • It is a state far from God; in other words, it is a state of homelessness.

    Sermons Preached at Brighton | Frederick W. Robertson
  • I had gathered that there was disgrace hanging over us, disgrace, and homelessness for Theobald and me.

    The Story of Bawn | Katharine Tynan