Meanings
nounhomelessness (countable and uncountable, plural homelessnesses)
plural homelessnesses
- countableuncountableThe state of being homeless.
The devastating effect of the violence is illustrated by the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that caused deaths, homelessness, despair, poverty, political instability, and economic stagnation in this country.
2007, Gabriel Andrew Msoka, “General Conclusion”, in Basic Human Rights and the Humanitarian Crises in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ethical Reflections (Princeton Theological Monograph Series; 74), Eugene, Or.: Pickwick Publications, Wipf and Stock Publishers, →ISBN, page 169
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱey-
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱóymos
- Proto-Indo-European*teḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*tḱéytibf.
- Proto-Indo-European*tḱey-
- Proto-Indo-European*tḱóymos
- Proto-Germanic*haimaz
- Proto-West Germanic*haim
- Old Englishhām
- Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
- Proto-Germanic*leusaną
- Proto-Germanic*lausaz
- Old Englishhāmlēas
- Middle English*homles
- Englishhomeless
- Englishhomelessness
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 無家可歸 /无家可归, 露宿街頭 /露宿街头
- 無家可歸 /无家可归 (wújiākěguī)state of being homeless
- 露宿街頭 /露宿街头 (lùsù jiētóu)state of being homeless
Czech bezdomovectví
- bezdomovectvístate of being homeless
Danish hjemløshed
- hjemløshedstate of being homeless
Esperanto senhejmeco
- senhejmecostate of being homeless
Finnish kodittomuus, asunnottomuus
- kodittomuusstate of being homeless
- asunnottomuusstate of being homeless
French itinérance, sans-abrisme
- itinérancestate of being homeless
- sans-abrismestate of being homeless
German Obdachlosigkeit, Wohnungslosigkeit
- Obdachlosigkeitstate of being homeless
- Wohnungslosigkeitstate of being homeless
- Hauslosigkeitstate of being homeless
- Heimatlosigkeitstate of being homeless
Greek αστεγία
- αστεγία (astegía)state of being homeless
Hungarian hajléktalanság
- hajléktalanságstate of being homeless
Italian senza fissa dimora
- senza fissa dimorastate of being homeless
Japanese ホームレス
- ホームレス (hōmuresu)state of being homeless
Korean 홈리스니스
- 홈리스니스 (homniseuniseu)state of being homeless
Malay tunawisma
- tunawismastate of being homeless
Māori kāingakoretanga
- kāingakoretangastate of being homeless
Norwegian Bokmål heimløshet, hjemløshet
- heimløshetstate of being homeless
- hjemløshetstate of being homeless
- bostedsløshetstate of being homeless
Polish bezdomność
- bezdomnośćstate of being homeless
Portuguese desabrigo
- desabrigostate of being homeless
Russian бездо́мность
- бездо́мность (bezdómnostʹ)state of being homeless
Spanish sinhogarismo, indigencia
- sinhogarismostate of being homeless
- indigenciastate of being homeless
- sintechismostate of being homeless
- situación de callestate of being homeless
Swedish hemlöshet
- hemlöshetstate of being homeless
Turkish evsizlik
- evsizlikstate of being homeless
Welsh digartrefedd
- digartrefeddstate of being homeless
Cite this entry
APA
homelessness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homelessness
MLA
“homelessness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homelessness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “homelessness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/homelessness.
Source: homelessness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.