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
About 18 months after finding over a million dollars in gold, they’re left penniless.
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Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 10 Oct. 2024
The series and costumes simultaneously trace Joan’s life from a penniless single mother to a high-class thief that earns her the nickname of The Godmother in London’s criminal underworld.
—Hikmat Mohammed, WWD, 1 Oct. 2024
And this happened after the penniless Abigail was obliged to take an almost three-hundred-mile solo horseback journey to be reunited with her younger children, from whom Asa had arranged to separate her.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024
In The Luckiest Lady in London, published in 2013, Louisa Cantwell—penniless and prospectless—piques the attention of the most eligible bachelor of the season, Felix Rivendale, Lord Wenworth.
—Meg Zukin, TIME, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for penniless 
Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 10 Oct. 2024
The series and costumes simultaneously trace Joan’s life from a penniless single mother to a high-class thief that earns her the nickname of The Godmother in London’s criminal underworld.
—Hikmat Mohammed, WWD, 1 Oct. 2024
And this happened after the penniless Abigail was obliged to take an almost three-hundred-mile solo horseback journey to be reunited with her younger children, from whom Asa had arranged to separate her.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024
In The Luckiest Lady in London, published in 2013, Louisa Cantwell—penniless and prospectless—piques the attention of the most eligible bachelor of the season, Felix Rivendale, Lord Wenworth.
—Meg Zukin, TIME, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for penniless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penniless
Adjective
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In Delhi, impoverished kids are learning to love reading and math, thanks to a police officer’s makeshift school.Shefali Rafiq, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Dec. 2024
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Assad’s fall ends more than six decades of Baath Party rule that sought to center Syria as a leader in the Arab world, but instead left it corruption-riddled and impoverished.Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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So this poor kid [who finished in last], this single guy, for a year had to have a Fathead of his buddy in boxers, a giant life-size Fathead above his bed.Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 13 Dec. 2024
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The cub was also hairless and found in poor condition.Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The movie’s protagonist, Frida (Naomi Ackie), is a broke cater waiter and nail artist who sneaks into the VIP section of an event she’s been working, only to trip on her heels and fall flat on her face.Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2024
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Cuban himself ran side hustles, got fired from multiple jobs and nearly went broke on his path to becoming a billionaire.Megan Sauer, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Penniless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penniless. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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