Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for orphan

orphan

[ awr-fuhn ]

noun

  1. a child who has lost both parents through death, or, less commonly, one parent.
  2. a young animal that has been deserted by or has lost its mother.
  3. a person or thing that is without protective affiliation, sponsorship, etc.:

    The committee is an orphan of the previous administration.

  4. Printing.
    1. (especially in word processing) the first line of a paragraph when it appears alone at the bottom of a page.


adjective

  1. bereft of parents.
  2. of or for orphans:

    an orphan home.

  3. not authorized, supported, or funded; not part of a system; isolated; abandoned:

    an orphan research project.

  4. lacking a commercial sponsor, an employer, etc.:

    orphan workers.

verb (used with object)

  1. to deprive of parents or a parent through death:

    He was orphaned at the age of four.

  2. Informal. to deprive of commercial sponsorship, an employer, etc.:

    The recession has orphaned many experienced workers.

orphan

/ ˈɔːfən /

noun

    1. a child, one or (more commonly) both of whose parents are dead
    2. ( as modifier )

      an orphan child

  1. printing the first line of a paragraph separated from the rest of the paragraph by occurring at the foot of a page
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


verb

  1. tr to deprive of one or both parents
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Other Words From

  • orphan·hood noun
  • half-orphan noun
  • un·orphaned adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of orphan1

1425–75; late Middle English (noun) < Late Latin orphanus destitute, without parents < Greek orphanós bereaved; akin to Latin orbus bereaved
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of orphan1

C15: from Late Latin orphanus, from Greek orphanos; compare Latin orbus bereaved
Discover More

Example Sentences

Because they have not gone through the same extensive breeding as corn, soy, and wheat, the orphans have more untapped potential.

The recent discoveries suggest that focusing on this handful of genes could accelerate the improvement of orphan crops, or even enable the de novo domestication of wild plants with crop potential.

Like the Romanian orphans, these kids had lower cortisol levels than nonadopted children who had no behavioral problems.

Each held a sample of saliva from one of the 2- and 3-year-old orphans.

This confirmed Gunnar’s previous research on Romanian orphans and international adoptees living in the United States.

He gave us a little orphan girl in a red wig belting “Tomorrow.”

She described how “in certain circles [it] is the moral equivalent of eating a baby orphan.”

Scribbling notes in the classroom next door is Justine, a shy 17-year-old orphan who is the only female in her class.

Metronomic therapy is a quintessential financial orphan, Vikas Sukhatme says.

The financial orphan problem points to a deeper issue with the way cancer drugs are developed.

You love her, your beautiful Finnish orphan brought up in France and romantically met in London, with the adorable name?

She wore no denim uniform, such as Amy had mentioned on a previous occasion as being the mark of the usual “orphan.”

It was the home that had sheltered her orphan childhood; she had never slept a night from under its moss-grown roof.

George Gordon: Scotch birth, so far as can learn; left an orphan; lived mostly in London.

You shall not be the loser, Mrs. Martin, by the attention you may pay to this poor orphan girl.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Orpenorphanage