impecunious

im·pe·cu·nious

adj \ˌim-pi-ˈkyü-nyəs, -nē-əs\

Definition of IMPECUNIOUS

: having very little or no money usually habitually : penniless

— im·pe·cu·ni·os·i·ty \-ˌkyü-nē-ˈä-sə-tē\ noun

— im·pe·cu·nious·ly adverb

— im·pe·cu·nious·ness noun

Examples of IMPECUNIOUS

1. <they were so impecunious that they couldn't afford to give one another even token Christmas gifts>

Origin of IMPECUNIOUS

¹in- + obsolete English pecunious rich, from Middle English, from Latin pecuniosus, from pecunia money — more at fee

First Known Use: 1596

Related to IMPECUNIOUS

Synonyms: beggared, beggarly, broke, destitute, dirt-poor, down-and-out, famished, hard up, poor, impoverished, indigent, necessitous, needful, needy, pauperized, penniless, penurious, poverty-stricken, skint [chiefly British], threadbare

Antonyms: affluent, deep-pocketed, fat, fat-cat, flush, moneyed (also monied), opulent, rich, silk-stocking, wealthy, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do

Related Words: deprived, disadvantaged, dispossessed, unaffluent, underprivileged; bankrupt, bankrupted, bust (or busted), insolvent; possessionless, ruined; depressed, distressed, hand-to-mouth, hardscrabble, pinched, poorish, reduced, straitened; cash-strapped, low, short, tapped out

Near Antonyms: comfortable, prosperous

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