Meanings
- uncountableThe state or quality of being penniless.
- uncountableSynonym of destitution (“extreme poverty”).
I was thinking earlier that to know this city you must first become penniless, because pennilessness (real pennilessness, I mean not having $2 for the subway) forces you to walk everywhere and you see the city best on foot.
2014, Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, Picador (2022), page 156Synonyms: moneylessness, brokeness, beggary, brokeness, destitution, impecuniosity, impecuniousness, indigence
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of destitution (“extreme poverty”).
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Finnish rahattomuus
- rahattomuusbeing penniless
Greek αδεκαρία
- αδεκαρία (adekaría)being penniless
Hungarian pénztelenség
- pénztelenségbeing penniless
Indonesian kemelaratan
- kemelaratanbeing penniless
Polish bycie bez grosza przy duszy
- bycie bez grosza przy duszybeing penniless
Russian безде́нежье
- безде́нежье (bezdénežʹje)being penniless
Cite this entry
pennilessness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pennilessness
“pennilessness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pennilessness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pennilessness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pennilessness.
Source: pennilessness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.