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Preposition after adjective

Deprived of, in or by?

Deprived is normally followed by of when talking about something missing or taken away.

Quick answer

Correct preposition with deprived

Use deprived of to mean lacking something necessary or losing access to it. In and by may appear elsewhere in the sentence but are not the standard complement after deprived.

deprived of sleep
deprived of basic rights
deprived of opportunities

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
deprived of + necessity

Lacking something important

Use of for things someone does not have.

The children were deprived of clean water
2
deprived of + right or chance

Losing access to something

This pattern also describes removal of rights or opportunities.

He was deprived of his passport

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
deprived of
Many families were deprived of electricity.
Standard and idiomatic.
deprived in
The area is deprived in many ways.
Possible only when in introduces an area or aspect, not as the main complement.
deprived by
They were deprived by unfair policies.
By may introduce the agent in passive structures, not the missing thing.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using in instead of of

Use of after deprived to name what is lacking.

✕ deprived in resources ✓ deprived of resources

Using by for the missing thing

By can name an agent, not the thing lost.

✕ deprived by food ✓ deprived of food

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. The village was deprived ___ medical care.
2. He felt deprived ___ opportunities.
3. Choose the correct sentence.

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Frequently asked questions

What does deprived of mean?

It means lacking something necessary or having something taken away.

Can by appear with deprived?

Yes, but usually to identify the agent in a passive structure, such as deprived by government policy.

Is deprived in correct?

Not as the normal adjective pattern. It may appear when in introduces an area or context.

daily, for, daily, with, daily, in damaging to, for, of, in or as? damn about, near, for, to or as? "dangerous for" or "dangerous to"? "dark in", "dark for" or "dark of"? "daunting for" or "daunting to"? dead in, on, by, at or of? deadly to, in, for, of or with? "deaf to" or "deaf in"? dear to, in, for, of or as? deceased in, to, for, at or on? "decent in" or "decent for"?

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