as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
went from being a penniless girl to owner of her own restaurant
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Recent Examples of penniless
Arnaz’s maternal grandfather, Alberto de Acha, was an executive at rum producer Bacardi & Co.
The man born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III in Santiago de Cuba on March 2, 1917, arrived penniless in Miami before his 17th birthday.
—
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 19 June 2025
If Jeff Bezos moves to impoverished West Virginia to start a business next week, capital flows into the Mountain State will be staggeringly large, and that’s true even if Bezos arrives penniless.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
Meanwhile, Andrea was left nearly penniless to care for their four children, the youngest of whom was 3 at the time, and had to quickly figure out how the rest of her life would go.
—Meredith Wilshere, People.com, 8 June 2025
To these penniless and amiably drunken men, every boozy beverage is always the last one — truly, for real this time, the last one — until the next one that usually comes right after.
—Tomris Laffly, Variety, 25 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for penniless
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 19 June 2025
If Jeff Bezos moves to impoverished West Virginia to start a business next week, capital flows into the Mountain State will be staggeringly large, and that’s true even if Bezos arrives penniless.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
Meanwhile, Andrea was left nearly penniless to care for their four children, the youngest of whom was 3 at the time, and had to quickly figure out how the rest of her life would go.
—Meredith Wilshere, People.com, 8 June 2025
To these penniless and amiably drunken men, every boozy beverage is always the last one — truly, for real this time, the last one — until the next one that usually comes right after.
—Tomris Laffly, Variety, 25 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for penniless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penniless
Adjective
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The film, which world premiered in the Berlinale’s Perspectives sidebar, follows an impoverished but determined family put to test when the father, who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, is accused of murder.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
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Sanctions have crippled the government’s primary source of revenue, oil exports, limiting the state’s ability to provide for millions of impoverished Iranians through social safety nets.—
Leila Gharagozlou,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The apology came after a sustained campaign by historians and activists who argued that the victims were persecuted for being poor, vulnerable, or simply different.—
James Frater,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
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As has Mark Flekken, the new goalkeeper, who moved from Brentford and is fortunate not to have lost his place due to poor form.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Betty Jo — who was dead broke until an hour ago — would have told Frank about Arthur for, say, half a big ol’ bag of cash.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
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Margaret Qualley, as the former A-lister's younger self, also goes for broke in a film that's a disturbing, hilarious and jaw-dropping hoot.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penniless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penniless. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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