spendthrift

1 of 2

noun

spend·​thrift ˈspen(d)-ˌthrift How to pronounce spendthrift (audio)
plural spendthrifts
: a person who spends improvidently or wastefully

spendthrift

2 of 2

adjective

: given to spending money freely or foolishly : wasteful with money
In advanced economies, austerity rules, with the wealthiest nations promising to mend their spendthrift ways.Daniel Gross
As spendthrift baby boomers retire, they will endeavor to turn their meager savings into maximum retirement income.Jonathan Clements
In newspaper op-eds, on television talk shows and at a recent hearing on Capitol Hill, critics have assailed public broadcasting as elitist, spendthrift and irrelevant in the cable era.Betsy Carpenter

Did you know?

One sense of thrift is "careful management especially of money," and spendthrift was coined in the late 16th century to refer to someone who recklessly flouts such efforts. Synonyms of spendthrift include prodigal, waster, and wastrel. Prodigal also has the suggestion of such enthusiastic waste that it would deplete even the most lavish resources, whereas both waster and wastrel imply that in addition to wastefulness, the person has such dramatic character flaws as to be a good-for-nothing and a drain upon the community.

Examples of spendthrift in a Sentence

Noun the spendthrift managed to blow all of his inheritance in a single year Adjective spendthrift consumers had amassed a mountain of debt on their credit cards
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
That’s half a trillion sucked out of the market and into the bottomless pit of the incontinent spendthrifts in the U.S. government. Clem Chambers, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024 Even for a country as awash with cash as Venezuela has been since 2004, Chávez's spendthrift ways have left behind a worrisome level of debt, fiscal deficit, and dependence on imports. Javier Corrales, Foreign Affairs, 4 Jan. 2013
Adjective
Galle’s father worked for Marie Antoinette, but the French Revolution unsurprisingly had a major impact on the aristocratic market for spendthrift furnishings like this. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024 Those could have been used to constrain distributions to or for the benefit of the spendthrift child. Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for spendthrift 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spendthrift.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1584, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1607, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spendthrift was in 1584

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Cite this Entry

“Spendthrift.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spendthrift. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

spendthrift

noun
spend·​thrift ˈspen(d)-ˌthrift How to pronounce spendthrift (audio)
: one who spends wastefully
spendthrift adjective

Legal Definition

spendthrift

1 of 2 noun
spend·​thrift ˈspend-ˌthrift How to pronounce spendthrift (audio)
: a person who spends money foolishly, profusely, or wastefully

spendthrift

2 of 2 adjective
1
: of, relating to, or being a spendthrift
2
: of or relating to a spendthrift trust

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