Definition of IMPECUNIOUS

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If impecunious means "penniless," then it stands to reason that "pecunious" can describe someone who has a lot of money. That is true, but "pecunious" is used with far less frequency in English than its opposite and is not found in many dictionaries. What's more, on the rare occasion when "pecunious" is put to use in English, it often means not "wealthy" but "miserly or ungenerous," as in "a pecunious attitude toward the less fortunate." "Impecunious" describes somebody who lacks the money to buy necessities, but it does not carry the connotation of desperation found in such words as "indigent" or "destitute." Both "pecunious" and "impecunious" derive via Middle English from the Latin pecunia, meaning "money."

Examples of impecunious in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web Salary cuts serve as the first step in giving needed cash to already impecunious Division I athletic departments, like Mid-American Conference schools in Michigan, that could otherwise see their programs crumble. — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, "Central Michigan to reduce salaries for AD, Jim McElwain. Here’s what the cuts mean," 3 May 2020 Private-equity firms, which have mountains of committed investor cash, may start buying up fundamentally sound but impecunious suppliers in various industries, aware that when demand returns such companies will see its first fruits. — The Economist, "Less globalisation, more tech The changes covid-19 is forcing on to business," 8 Apr. 2020 Nat is a 46-year-old Londoner, the son of an impecunious Scottish aristocrat and a Russian exiled to Paris, who for the entirety of his career has worked for Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "John le Carré’s Scathing Tale of Brexit Britain," 26 Oct. 2019 The son of an impecunious Prussian high-school teacher, Helmholtz originally wanted to be a physicist, but economic necessity led him to become an army surgeon. — Peter Pesic, WSJ, "‘Helmholtz’ Review: He Saw Further and Heard More," 22 Nov. 2018 Tyndall’s life began humbly, in a respectable but impecunious Irish family whose Protestant roots shaped his lifelong opposition to home rule. — Peter Pesic, WSJ, "‘The Ascent of John Tyndall’ Review: Science at the Summit," 9 Aug. 2018 Lord Dundonald, an impecunious earl with an inventive streak, patented the processing of smelting coke—a key development, converting coal to a nearly pure carbon state that produced an easy-to-work iron. — Charles R. Morris, WSJ, "‘Energy’ Review: The Path to Power," 21 June 2018 To sum things up without any spoilers (though the big reveal comes not long into the play, so the term spoiler is relative), impecunious book scout Edmund (Stewart) is facing eviction. — F. Kathleen Foley, latimes.com, "In Atwater, a dark secret at the center of 'Forever Bound'," 25 May 2018 New Jersey, one of the most impecunious states in the union, was behind this week’s Supreme Court ruling overturning a federal ban on sports gambling. — Holman Jenkins, WSJ, "Gambling Is Coming, So Get Ready to Hate Sports," 18 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impecunious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.