impecunious
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See poor.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of impecunious
First recorded in 1590–1600; im- 2 + obsolete pecunious “wealthy,” from Latin pecūniōsus, equivalent to pecūni(a) “wealth” + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
If you are hard up, broke, penniless, or strapped for cash, you could describe yourself as impecunious. Then maybe you could make some money teaching vocabulary words. Impecunious comes from the old Latin word for money, pecunia, combined with the prefix im, meaning not or without. But impecunious doesn’t just mean having no money. It means that you almost never have any money. If you go into the arts, you are most likely facing an impecunious future. If you gamble away your cash instead of saving it for rent, your landlord might throw you out for being impecunious.
Vocabulary lists containing impecunious
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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Broke-abulary: Synonyms for "Poor"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After a failed engagement, Locksley flees the city to settle in a village on the Atlantic coast, where he allows his new neighbors to believe he is an impecunious artist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Fans and players relatively unscathed, the pyramid structure affirmed, the current season’s integrity retained, clubs in trouble helped and the 14’s own playing staff not raided by clubs so impecunious they need their own goldmine.”
From The Guardian ● Apr. 22, 2021
The Manhattan Institute’s Brian Riedl reports that the overall personal-savings rate soared from 8 percent to 32 percent: People are avoiding air travel and restaurants not because they are impecunious but because they are prudent.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 13, 2021
As a young, eager-to-please novelist, he had transformed his impecunious father into the whimsical and charming Mr. Micawber of “Copperfield”; after his father’s death came a more selfish and unforgiving version in “Little Dorrit.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2020
And the greatest hue and cry came from Rob Hall, who was leading a small, impecunious New Zealand team.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
