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
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
Eugene was penniless and in debt to his sister to the tune of $2,000.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 31 Mar. 2025
Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary 2001 film about a performer at the famed Parisian nightclub who falls in love with a penniless composer comes to life onstage in March 2026.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penniless
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
Eugene was penniless and in debt to his sister to the tune of $2,000.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 31 Mar. 2025
Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary 2001 film about a performer at the famed Parisian nightclub who falls in love with a penniless composer comes to life onstage in March 2026.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for penniless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penniless
Adjective
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The impoverished duke needs Gladys' dowry to prop up his family's estate, and Bertha may have promised him a bit too much without informing George or taking Gladys' wishes into account.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
23 June 2025
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Known collectively as Hessians, since most Germans hired by London to fight in America came from Hesse-Kassel, this contingent was largely from the small, impoverished duchy of Brunswick, whose ruling family had intermarried with the British royal family.—
/ CBS News,
CBS News,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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The key drivers are BGE’s soaring spending and profits and poor management by PJM Interconnection, the private entity that operates our electric grid.—
Emily Scarr,
Baltimore Sun,
29 June 2025
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Despite having a poor 2024 season that saw the Pirates remove Bednar from the closer role, the right-hander is back to his dominant form.—
Zach Pressnell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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Song toys with broken hearts being as interchangeable as being literally financially broke.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
16 June 2025
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Really, Song wants to know whether a sensible girl can justify shackling herself to a broke creative.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penniless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penniless. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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