Noun

(en noun)

(obsolete) The action of deserting or abandoning.

Discharge from office; dismissal.

The condition of lacking something.

* 1906 , ‘Mark Twain’, in The Bible According to Mark Twain , 1996, p. 330:

He requires of his fellow man obedience to a very creditable code of morals, but he observes without shame or disapproval his God's utter destitution of morals.

An extreme state of poverty, in which a person is almost completely lacking in resources or means of support.

* 2009 , Rahila Gupta, The Guardian , 4 Aug 2009:

Destitution forces many asylum seekers to end up working for extremely low wages in catering, cleaning and construction, for example, without any protection against unscrupulous employers.

Noun

(en noun)

State or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, opposite of success.

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 5, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport

, title= Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool , passage=For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.}}

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 23, author=Angelique Chrisafis, work=the Guardian

, title= François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election , passage=Sarkozy's total will be seen as a personal failure . It is the first time an outgoing president has failed to win a first-round vote in the past 50 years and makes it harder for Sarkozy to regain momentum.}}

An object, person or endeavour in a state of failure or incapable of success.

Termination of the ability of an item to perform its required function, breakdown.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)

, volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.}}