hard up vs penurious

hard up and penurious both are adjectives.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
hard up	No	Yes	No	No
penurious	No	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, hard up and penurious are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of hard up include impecunious, in straitened circumstances, penniless, pinched.

hard up (adjective)	penurious (adjective)
not having enough money to pay for necessities	not having enough money to pay for necessities
	excessively unwilling to spend