impecunious
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See poor.
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
Protagonist Louden Swain, a high-school senior, can’t fathom why Elmo, an older and impecunious cook at the hotel where they’re both employed, is missing work to watch him wrestle.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
We’re not talking public or academic institutions, but what any impecunious collector vainly covets — an English country-house library or what Byers calls a “bookwrapt” study like that of Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 28, 2021
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
His grandfather was a servant, and his father, John Dickens, was an impecunious minor civil servant ultimately sent to the notorious debtors’ prison, Marshalsea.
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.
