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
Last December, New York City, Chicago and Denver pleaded for federal assistance to help house tens of thousands of migrants who had arrived penniless after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, bused them there from the border.
—
Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY, 9 Nov. 2024
Along with invisible, the assistant can also be penniless, powerless and a vulnerable target.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2024
This time, inspiration came from English writer H.G. Wells, whose sci-fi novel The Invisible Man — about a penniless researcher whose experiments in invisibility unlock a sadistic side to his personality — has become one of the all-time genre greats.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024
Venezuela’s generals would rather stay penniless but in power than step down and end up imprisoned.
—Laura Gamboa Gutiérrez, Foreign Affairs, 30 May 2019
See All Example Sentences for penniless
Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY, 9 Nov. 2024
Along with invisible, the assistant can also be penniless, powerless and a vulnerable target.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2024
This time, inspiration came from English writer H.G. Wells, whose sci-fi novel The Invisible Man — about a penniless researcher whose experiments in invisibility unlock a sadistic side to his personality — has become one of the all-time genre greats.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024
Venezuela’s generals would rather stay penniless but in power than step down and end up imprisoned.
—Laura Gamboa Gutiérrez, Foreign Affairs, 30 May 2019
See All Example Sentences for penniless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penniless
Adjective
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The nuances of being the older sibling, and especially the eldest daughter of an impoverished, fractured or immigrant family, are beginning to gain more traction in mainstream media.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2025
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Kicking Margulis and Dyson out of polite scientific society for these consensus violations would have impoverished science.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But there is another concerning trend and area that has to be improved — their poor record on second balls.—
Rob Tanner,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
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The county’s response to the Tijuana River sewage crisis has been very poor.—
Emily Alvarenga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Hunter Biden plays the broke card in latest move to fight laptop scandal lawsuit.—
Fox News,
Fox News,
6 Mar. 2025
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But the Democrats still do not get it, which is why Trump should come to their aid by diverting leftover USAID funds to the Democrat Party which is broke and on the verge of becoming as relevant in U.S. politics as Guatemala, Serbia and Egypt.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to penniless
Cite this Entry
“Penniless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penniless. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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