as in wasteful
given to spending money freely or foolishly
profligate movie producers hoping to create the next blockbuster
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in spendthrift
someone who spends money freely or foolishly
a profligate who could not really afford the grand style he maintained at Monticello, Jefferson died deeply in debt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in degenerate
a person who has sunk below the normal moral standard
a drunken profligate, he was given to wretched excess in every aspect of his life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of profligate
Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
Coming clean about the numbers helped Greece make its case for financial support from the EU and the International Monetary Fund – and forced the former Socialist government to rein in profligate spending.
—The Monitor’s Editorial Board, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Aug. 2025
WSJ, 14 Sep. 2022
Still, Republicans have slammed Democrats for profligate spending since retaking the majority, decrying the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief measure passed in March and the possible passage of the Build Back Better Act.
—Grace Segers, The New Republic, 15 Dec. 2021
See All Example Sentences for profligate
Adjective
The emotion builds in the doc’s second half with the high-flying Haggard’s ambivalence about success, guilt over his wealth and shame over his past, not to mention his profligate ways, bankruptcy and five marriages, some much briefer than others.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
Coming clean about the numbers helped Greece make its case for financial support from the EU and the International Monetary Fund – and forced the former Socialist government to rein in profligate spending.
—The Monitor’s Editorial Board, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
The monarchy and the British government, which provides significant financial support for the institution, have long faced a careful balancing act: Both have worked to maintain the pomp and circumstance of the institution while avoiding looking profligate.
—WSJ, 14 Sep. 2022
Still, Republicans have slammed Democrats for profligate spending since retaking the majority, decrying the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief measure passed in March and the possible passage of the Build Back Better Act.
—Grace Segers, The New Republic, 15 Dec. 2021
See All Example Sentences for profligate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profligate
Adjective
-
Slash the bureaucracy in the California Department of Education, cut wasteful spending and direct those funds toward providing resources directly to both school districts and parents.—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 May 2026
-
Is its packaging consciously designed or needlessly wasteful?—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
These restrictions include spendthrift provisions in trust.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The split screen of Bezos and his spendthrift wife, Lauren Sánchez, frolicking everywhere — including Paris Fashion Week — while the tech mogul defiles the crown jewel nurtured by Ben Bradlee and Kay Graham is sickening.—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Especially compared to the degenerates and felons all around him in the Mets clubhouse.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The product exploded, generating trillions and minting a new class of crypto degenerates who were willing to take massive risks that, occasionally, resulted in millions.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Delery ruminates on her wastrel youth.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Apr. 2026
-
He was raised on Chicago’s North Side by a wastrel father and a mother who struggled to put food on their table.—
Ron Grossman,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Nora Ephron for depressed perverts.—
Antonia Blyth,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2026
-
You are being spied on by a pervert.—
Jay Ruttenberg,
New Yorker,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Twenty-six James Bond films (the 25 Eon joints, plus the prodigal Never Say Never Again) are coming to Netflix this month.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
2 Jan. 2026
-
Secrets are revealed, prodigals return, intolerances surface and family bonds are tested.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The protagonist of A Love Story is a lover boy, a libertine, a gossip, a flirt.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
4 Dec. 2025
-
The libertines will begin the film in suits.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Forest have spent almost £600million in the past five years, according to data collection site Transfermarkt, which is actually more than Villa and places them ninth in the Premier League spenders list over that period.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
-
The stock market gains that Alphabet is producing are not being matched by other big AI spenders such as Microsoft and Facebook parent Meta Platforms, whose stock price plunged by about 6% in extended trading after disclosing an investment strategy being second guessed by investors.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Profligate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profligate. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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