penniless

adjective

pen·​ni·​less ˈpe-ni-ləs 

: destitute of money

Synonyms

• beggared
• beggarly
• broke
• destitute
• dirt-poor
• down-and-out
• famished
• hard up
• impecunious
• impoverished
• indigent
• necessitous
• needful
• needy
• pauperized
• penurious
• poor
• poverty-stricken
• skint [chiefly British]
• threadbare

Examples of penniless in a Sentence

She was unemployed and penniless.

went from being a penniless girl to owner of her own restaurant

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Regan befriended Bridger, who died in 1881 blind and penniless after living his final years in Westport, and rubbed shoulders with the James brothers. —Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2025

Unfortunately, not long after Sow arrived in early 2022, the school went out of business, leaving the 15-year-old homeless and penniless with nowhere to go. —Steve Hartman, CBS News, 21 Feb. 2025

Harper and Ullman said the younger women sometimes looked after elderly, infirm or penniless prisoners. —Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

penniless

adjective

pen·​ni·​less ˈpen-i-ləs 

ˈpen-ᵊl-əs

: having no money : very poor