as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
went from being a penniless girl to owner of her own restaurant
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of penniless
The bank would not go broke, leaving depositors penniless.
—
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 14 Dec. 2025
Since then, Federal Reserve locations have reported depleted supplies of pennies, and as of this week, more than 100 of the 165 coin distribution sites across the country are penniless.
—Connor Greene, Time, 13 Nov. 2025
Christophe’s son died penniless and alone on the streets of Paris in October 1805 at the age of only eleven.
—Marlene L. Daut
september 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
Her ex-husband wiped out several bank accounts and disappeared, leaving her and their children practically penniless.
—Essence, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penniless
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 14 Dec. 2025
Since then, Federal Reserve locations have reported depleted supplies of pennies, and as of this week, more than 100 of the 165 coin distribution sites across the country are penniless.
—Connor Greene, Time, 13 Nov. 2025
Christophe’s son died penniless and alone on the streets of Paris in October 1805 at the age of only eleven.
—Marlene L. Daut
september 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
Her ex-husband wiped out several bank accounts and disappeared, leaving her and their children practically penniless.
—Essence, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penniless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penniless
Adjective
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Surely my imagination was not so impoverished?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
They are fascinated by this impoverished district of docks and shabby warehouses, associated in the popular imagination with Asian sailors, white slavery, and cholera.—
Hari Kunzru,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Evening people were 79% more likely to have poor overall heart health compared with those in the intermediate group, the study found.—
Dr. Joseph Wendt,
ABC News,
28 Jan. 2026
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Audits have identified poor planning, weak oversight, and insufficient monitoring of quality and cost.—
Walter Pavlo,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Corridors are bedecked in vivid wallpaper with oversized flora and animals, real and mythical, and the hotel’s art collection that meets your eye around every corner is a go-for-broke assemblage of everything from old-world oils to ambitious mixed media and 20th-century American photography.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
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Like Jane Eyre—a governess who fell for her affluent employer—Woodley’s character, a young single mother, is a broke outsider in an exclusive community.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Penniless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penniless. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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