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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All the struggling, impoverished Californians who wish their lives were better?—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
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The flood of people overwhelmed Bajo Chiquito, an impoverished community of 382 members of the Indigenous Emberá-Wounaan people.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Ministry of Environment blamed this year’s surge on a poor acorn harvest – which drove a similar spate of attacks in 2023.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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If only every actor could find the chance to to exercise such go-for-broke freedom.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
6 Nov. 2025
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Continue reading … NOT SO 'POPULAR' – Former 'Wicked' star reveals backlash over Charlie Kirk comments 'nearly broke' her.—
,
FOXNews.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Penniless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penniless. Accessed 25 Nov. 2025.
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