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
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
Chicago Tribune 1924: After spending his final years living in the Hotel Warner at 33rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, penniless and in rapidly declining health, architect Louis Sullivan died.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
Eugene was penniless and in debt to his sister to the tune of $2,000.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penniless
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
Chicago Tribune 1924: After spending his final years living in the Hotel Warner at 33rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, penniless and in rapidly declining health, architect Louis Sullivan died.
—Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
Eugene was penniless and in debt to his sister to the tune of $2,000.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penniless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penniless
Adjective
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The walk is presided over by its creator, a mysterious authoritarian figure known as the Major (Mark Hamill) who extolls the sadistic contest as a boon for the spirits of the impoverished American people.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
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Probably the one that’s best known is the one about how Philomelus, a young, impoverished farmer and herdsman, struggled to push his plow through his fields.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Cutting carbs entirely can raise the risk of cholesterol, kidney stones, poor bone health, gut problems, and even cancer, added Stefanki.—
Caitlin Pagán,
Verywell Health,
11 Sep. 2025
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Before Wednesday’s game, people within the organization were optimistic about Helsley putting his tipping problem and overall poor pitching behind him, pointing to a clean inning Monday.—
Will Sammon,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Reunion shows often have a vital, go-for-broke spirit, and this movie does too, in the sweetest possible way.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
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So to invest in a broke company is beyond me.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penniless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penniless. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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