Synonyms of penniless

penniless

adjective

ˈpe-ni-ləs 

as in impoverished

lacking money or material possessions

went from being a penniless girl to owner of her own restaurant

Synonyms & Similar Words

• impoverished
• poor
• broke
• bankrupt
• destitute
• beggared
• impecunious
• indigent
• penurious
• needy
• down-and-out
• dirt-poor
• pauperized
• famished
• deprived
• bankrupted
• poverty-stricken
• beggarly
• skint
• depressed
• necessitous
• needful
• threadbare
• out of pocket
• out at elbows
• hard up
• disadvantaged
• distressed
• dispossessed
• underprivileged
• insolvent
• down on one's luck
• ruined
• unaffluent
• bust
• hand-to-mouth
• pinched
• hardscrabble
• reduced
• straitened
• cash-strapped
• short
• poorish
• possessionless
• tapped out
• low

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• wealthy
• rich
• affluent
• well-to-do
• moneyed
• opulent
• fat
• flush
• well-off
• prosperous
• well-heeled
• comfortable
• fat-cat
• silk-stocking
• deep-pocketed

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of penniless

Horan, the daughter of Irish immigrants, died penniless at the Springside Almshouse in 1907. — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2026

Nearly penniless in Missouri during the height of the Depression, both women’s financial futures hinged entirely on the book’s success. — Rosemary Counter, Vanity Fair, 6 July 2026

Demoustier stars as a penniless young woman called Suzanne working on the ‘Venus Electrificata’ sideshow of a traveling fair meting out electrifying kisses to unsuspecting paying bystanders, while secretly being charged with electricity. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 12 May 2026

The show followed a wealthy family who became penniless overnight after falling victim to fraud. — Todd Spangler, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026