impecunious

/ˌɪm.pəˈkjuː.ni.əs/

//ˌɪm.pəˈkjuː.ni.əs// adj

"impecunious" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“impecunious” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lacking money.

Corpus desk

Index EN-impecunious · impecunious · English

impecunious · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "I" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for impecunious
PropertyValue
Headwordimpecunious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌɪm.pəˈkjuː.ni.əs/
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “impecunious” in English

impecuniousranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

impecunious is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌɪm.pəˈkjuː.ni.əs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Lacking money.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for impecunious, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From im- + pecunious, from Latin pecūniōsus, from pecūnia (“money”) + -ōsus (“full of”). The correct English form is impecunious, spelled I-M-P-E-C-U-N-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lacking money.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how impecunious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When I, good friends, was called to the bar, I'd an appetite fresh and hearty, But I was, as many young barristers are, An impecunious party.
  2. "Then what became of her?" "Her? Which 'her'? The park is full of 'hers.'" "The lady with the green feathers in her hat. A big Gainsborough hat. I am quite sure it was Miss Hartuff." "Not improbably. I presume she does sometimes take the air. And possibly she may be the happy owner of a Gainsborough hat with green feathers." "Don't be frivolous, please. S…

Etymology

From im- + pecunious, from Latin pecūniōsus, from pecūnia (“money”) + -ōsus (“full of”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "impecunious"?
"impecunious" is spelled I-M-P-E-C-U-N-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɪm.pəˈkjuː.ni.əs/.
What does "impecunious" mean?
As an adjective, "impecunious" means: Lacking money.
How do you pronounce "impecunious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "impecunious" is /ˌɪm.pəˈkjuː.ni.əs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "impecunious"?
From im- + pecunious, from Latin pecūniōsus, from pecūnia (“money”) + -ōsus (“full of”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list