🇬🇧🇪🇸 orphaned - huérfano : English Lesson

Meaning of "orphaned" ("huérfano"), detailed definition, and a short video lesson below.

Orphaned means that a child or an animal’s parents have died, so they don’t have a mom or dad anymore to take care of them. An orphaned child or animal often needs other people, relatives, or helpers to look after them and keep them safe, loved, and cared for.

Watch and listen to this English flashcard to understand the word in more detail, with an easy example sentence.

The orphaned baby hippo tried to sit on my lap, forgetting that my lap is not built for a squishy mini-tank.

An orphaned baby turtle chased after a toy car, convinced it had finally found a parent that was fast enough.

An orphaned kitten adopted the principal and now refuses to let him start school without a morning cuddle.

The orphaned puppy decided that a sock was its new parent and followed it everywhere, even into the washing machine.

When a baby elephant is orphaned in the wild, other elephants often help raise it—basically the whole herd becomes a giant, wrinkly babysitting team.

After the storm, the small girl sat by the closed gate, orphaned and clinging to a wet toy. The orphaned coat lay on a chair, the orphaned shoes were by the step, the orphaned bicycle leaned alone. Neighbors lifted the orphaned child into warm arms; she wiped her face and slowly smiled.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

Expanding your English vocabulary is one of the best ways to improve your pronunciation, spelling, and confidence in English. Watch the video above to memorize the word, understand its meaning, and see example sentences in action. Discover related words to grow your vocabulary naturally. Add words to your playlist for stress-free, effective learning—anytime, anywhere! Watch, learn, repeat.