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Synonyms
Examples of penniless in a Sentence
She was unemployed and penniless.
went from being a penniless girl to owner of her own restaurant
Recent Examples on the Web
Born in 1970s Philadelphia and raised by a penniless single mother, Adina Giorno also happens to be a space alien who communicates via fax with extraterrestrial overlords who’ve sent her to report on earth’s society.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 1 June 2024
Kassim’s grandfather rented houses to Holocaust survivors and Jewish immigrants, and after what happened to his family, was left penniless with 12 kids.
—TIME, 15 May 2024
The British indie is based on the true story of Henry Cyril Paget, fifth Marquess of Anglesey, who was once one of the richest men in Britain but died penniless and forgotten at the age of 29 in France.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 May 2024
But Allie’s wealthy parents disapprove of the penniless, free-spirited Noah, and take drastic measures to sever ties between them.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024
But in Chicago, recent busing protocols coupled with gridlock among national political leaders has made for strong dependency on local and state resources to provide essential services for newly arrived, often penniless, migrants: shelter, food and health care.
—Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024
This time, inspiration came from English writer H.G. Wells, whose sci-fi novel The Invisible Man — about a penniless researcher whose experiments in invisibility unlock a sadistic side to his personality — has become one of the all-time genre greats.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023
Traveling on stateless refugee passports, the couple arrived, penniless, in Zurich.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2023
Although penniless, some have relatives in the diaspora who could be extorted.
—Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'penniless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of penniless was
in the 14th century
Articles Related to penniless
Dictionary Entries Near penniless
Cite this Entry
“Penniless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penniless. Accessed 11 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
penniless
adjective
pen·ni·less
ˈpen-i-ləs
ˈpen-ᵊl-əs
: having no money : very poor
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