wander destitute; decline; sink into degradation
Meanings
3 senses · 8 examplesverb
to wander about destitute; to drift into poverty; to roam the streets
Describes someone who has lost their livelihood and wanders without a home.
He ended up roaming the streets after going bankrupt.
That war forced many people to wander destitute in foreign lands.
verb
to decline; to degenerate; to fall into ruin
literaryUsed in literary contexts to describe moral, economic, or familial decline.
The aristocratic families gradually fell into decline.
Societal morality should not degenerate to this extent.
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His family fortunes declined, never to see the glory of the past again.
verb
to sink into (degradation, perdition, or enemy hands); to be reduced to
Often used in passive constructions or set phrases describing moral or physical capture.
She was reduced to a life of prostitution due to family poverty.
Half of the country fell into enemy hands.
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He gambled all day and eventually sank to the level of a beggar.