pen ‧ ni ‧ less /ˈpenɪləs/ BrE AmE adjective
someone who is penniless has no money ⇨ broke :
Uncle Charlie was jobless and penniless.
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THESAURUS
▪ poor having very little money and not many possessions – used about people or places:
Many families were too poor to pay for education.
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poor countries
▪ hard up/broke ( also skint British English ) [not before noun] informal having very little money, especially for a short period of time. Skint is more informal than the other words:
I’m a bit hard up at the moment
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We were so broke we couldn’t afford to go out to the cinema.
▪ developing [only before noun] a developing country is poor and has very little industry:
The disease is found mainly in developing countries.
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the developing world
▪ deprived [usually before noun] much poorer than other people in a country, and not having the things that are necessary for a comfortable or happy life – used about people and areas:
The charity works with deprived children in the inner city.
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one of the most deprived areas of London
▪ disadvantaged especially written used about groups of people in society who have much less chance of being successful because they are poor:
An increase in the minimum wage would help the most disadvantaged Americans.
▪ needy having very little money, and so needing help – used about groups of people:
More help should be given to needy families.
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We offer scholarships for needy students.
▪ destitute especially written having no money or possessions and nowhere to live – used when someone is in a very bad situation:
Her family was left destitute after her father died.
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destitute refugees
▪ impoverished formal impoverished people and places are very poor:
out-of-work miners and their impoverished families
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The children come from impoverished neighbourhoods.
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one of the world’s most impoverished countries
▪ poverty-stricken written extremely poor:
poverty-stricken areas
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They were left poverty-stricken.
▪ penniless especially literary having no money:
She died penniless.
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a penniless student