Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Utterly destitute: To be in a state of extreme poverty and hardship, lacking the most basic necessities of life.
   • Extremely miserable: To be in a condition of profound suffering, distress, or wretchedness.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Gia đình họ sống trong cảnh khốn cực sau trận lụt. (Their family lived in utter destitution after the flood.)
  • Những người tị nạn trải qua một cuộc sống khốn cực. (The refugees endured an extremely miserable life.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "khốn cực" is considered literary and is not used frequently in everyday modern conversation. It conveys a very strong degree of suffering and deprivation, often used in descriptive or historical contexts.

Variants and Related Words

• Khốn khổ (adj): Miserable, wretched; a more commonly used synonym that also describes hardship and suffering, but may imply a slightly less extreme degree than "khốn cực."

  • Đứa trẻ trông thật khốn khổ. (The child looked so wretched.)

• Cùng cực (adj): Destitute, at the end of one's tether; describes being in the utmost poverty or a desperate situation.

  • Họ đã rơi vào bước đường cùng cực. (They had fallen into utter destitution.)

Synonyms

• Destitute: Lacking the means to provide for material needs.
• Wretched: In a state of deep misery or poverty.
• Impoverished: Reduced to poverty.

Related Idioms

• Khốn nạn: A stronger, more vulgar term expressing contempt or pity for someone in a miserable or despicable state. It is important to note this is a harsh insult.

  • Tên khốn nạn đó đã lừa dối tôi. (That wretched bastard deceived me.)

• Đường cùng: Literally "the end of the road," meaning a dead end or a situation with no way out, often leading to a state of being "khốn cực."

  • Anh ta đã bị dồn đến bước đường cùng. (He was driven to a dead end.)

1. (ít dùng) Utterly destitute