Penniless Meaning
/ˈpɛ.nɪ.ləs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjLacking even the smallest amount of money.
adjOf a country's system of money, abstaining from the use of penny coins, despite having fully decimalized currency, by means of rounding of cash transactions (but not necessarily of cashless ones).
Sentence Examples
For one thing, I'm penniless; for another, I don't have the time.
The failure in business left me penniless.
When his business failed, he was left penniless.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After losing his job and spending all his savings, he found himself completely ____ and homeless.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After the business failed, he found himself completely ____ and had to rely on friends for support.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English penyles, penylees; equivalent to penny + -less. Compare Old Norse penningalauss (“penniless”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A dollar and a quarter seems a small sum, but if you are absolutely penniless it might as well be a thousand."
— 1889, Horatio Alger, chapter 10, in Driven From Home:
"This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After losing his job and spending all his savings, he found himself completely ____ and homeless.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After the business failed, he found himself completely ____ and had to rely on friends for support.