profligate

11 synonyms and 4 antonyms for profligate, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adj — Spending money or resources in a wasteful, extravagant way.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

fast

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

degraded extravagant

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

dissolute spendthrift prodigal riotous dissipated degenerate debauched libertine

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adj

Spending money or resources in a wasteful, extravagant way.

“Jay Rodriguez headed over and Dani Osvaldo might have done better with only David De Gea to beat and, as Southampton bordered on the profligate, United were far more ruthless.”

degraded dissolute spendthrift prodigal riotous dissipated extravagant fast degenerate debauched libertine

Opposites

prudent abstemious

2. adj

Behaving in an immoral way, with no self-control.

Opposites

righteous proper

Etymology

The adjective is first attested in 1535, the verb in 1542; borrowed from Latin prōflīgātus, perfect passive participle of prōflīgō (“to strike down, cast down”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 an 3) and pro-), from prō- (“forward”) + flīgō (“to strike, dash”) + -ō (1st conjugation compound verb-forming suffix). Common partic...

Full origin of profligate →

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fast proper righteous prudent degraded extravagant degenerate dissipated abstemious riotous spendthrift prodigal

Nearby words

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