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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of profligate
E.j. Antoni, Mercury News, 28 Nov. 2025
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
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 profligate spending of the Biden administration and the monetary mismanagement of the Federal Reserve caused both home prices and interest rates to skyrocket, a deadly one-two punch that knocked out the housing market.
—E.j. Antoni, Mercury News, 28 Nov. 2025
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
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
-
Republicans opposing the extension had said the assistance went to insurers, incentivizing fraud and wasteful coverage.—
Tribune News Service,
Boston Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The efforts of the county Board of Supervisors to essentially create a duplicate unit is another example of wasteful spending.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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That is all the more reason the state must get a better handle on its spendthrift ways.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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
-
In all vertebrates, the thymus degenerates very rapidly with age.—
Mallory Locklear,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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Ridley, traumatized by the cancer death of her mother and considered mostly a wastrel by those around her for pursuing a degree in the dread-inducing major of art history, knows a thing or two about the mythology behind these kindly rainbow-spewing creatures.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 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
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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
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Secrets are revealed, prodigals return, intolerances surface and family bonds are tested.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
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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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Chief among the outside spenders are generically named political action committees launched by pro-Israel, pro-artificial intelligence development, pro-cryptocurrency and pro-cloud data center interests.—
Dan Petrella,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
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Jackson Health, the county’s public hospital system, is the fourth-largest spender of property tax dollars in the budget, receiving $282 million.—
Douglas Hanks
March 13,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Profligate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profligate. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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