as in corruption
immoral conduct or practices harmful or offensive to society
a religious leader who railed against the profligacy of the nation's decadent aristocrats
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Recent Examples of profligacy
The United States can sustain the eye-popping profligacy of its national debt only because investors consider the U.S. dollar to be a safe haven.
—
Kori Schake, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Modern Paris is an elegant monument to Haussmann’s profligacy; he was fired for spending stupefying sums of public money to force it up like winter tulips.
—Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
If there’s another deficit, as seems likely, candidates who spent the past year preaching frugality will fare better than those pushing profligacy.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 31 May 2025
But while profligacy was the bigger issue under their previous manager, chance creation has taken over that mantle under Amorim.
—Mark Carey, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profligacy
Kori Schake, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Modern Paris is an elegant monument to Haussmann’s profligacy; he was fired for spending stupefying sums of public money to force it up like winter tulips.
—Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
If there’s another deficit, as seems likely, candidates who spent the past year preaching frugality will fare better than those pushing profligacy.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 31 May 2025
But while profligacy was the bigger issue under their previous manager, chance creation has taken over that mantle under Amorim.
—Mark Carey, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profligacy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profligacy
Noun
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Temirov was unlawfully deported to Moscow in 2022 in retaliation for his investigative reporting on high-level corruption in the Kyrgyz government, according to Sorensen.—
Ray Long,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
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Many Iranians wonder why their government spends so much money and effort on picking fights with Israel, the United States, and their allies, rather than on fixing its own corruption.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Hank isn’t being accused of mere immorality, after all; he’s being accused of rape, which was also a crime back in Kierkegaard’s days.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
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Beyond the inherent immorality of thoughtlessly torturing and killing birds and wildlife, Death Pipes are an example of the hidden toll that people and their structures are exacting on nature.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But after Davina publicly accuses Julia mid-labor of seducing Lord Lovat, the group of women suddenly turn on Julia, yelling at her to repent her sins and repeatedly questioning her about the paternity of her child.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
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The film’s chief sin is its effortful posture of compassion for the plight of these boys, and those like them in the real world.—
Richard Lawson,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Our empathy keeps getting used to excuse evil.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
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The courtroom thriller dramatizes the first international tribunal against surviving Nazi leaders, probing not only their crimes but also the nature of evil itself.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Profligacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profligacy. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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