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

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

Wealthy lifelong bachelor Don Pasquale plans to marry not out of love, but to stick it to his nephew, Ernesto, who is in love with a penniless widow. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2026