as in wasteful
given to spending money freely or foolishly
spendthrift consumers had amassed a mountain of debt on their credit cards
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in wastrel
someone who carelessly spends money
the spendthrift managed to blow all of his inheritance in a single year
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spendthrift
The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 13 Jan. 2026
It would be accompanied by state audits into how spendthrift local governments overcharge for roads, school construction and parks.
—Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
Andrew Rice, Curbed, 26 June 2025
In a salary-cap league, every dollar matters, and the league made sure of that by adding tax aprons and a punishing repeater tax to rein in the most spendthrift owners.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for spendthrift
Adjective
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
It would be accompanied by state audits into how spendthrift local governments overcharge for roads, school construction and parks.
—Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
The last generation’s spendthrifts have become this generation’s scolds, as controversies recur over the same parcels of land with new names in the old roles.
—Andrew Rice, Curbed, 26 June 2025
In a salary-cap league, every dollar matters, and the league made sure of that by adding tax aprons and a punishing repeater tax to rein in the most spendthrift owners.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for spendthrift
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spendthrift
Adjective
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Is its packaging consciously designed or needlessly wasteful?—
Sarah Han,
Allure,
27 Jan. 2026
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Mohamed Salah's return provides an edge in open play, but against a side this unpredictable, Liverpool cannot afford to be wasteful.—
Sukhman Singh,
New York Times,
27 Jan. 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
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Thousands of players entered the portal this cycle and the sport’s biggest opportunists (and spenders) were active early.—
Shawn McFarland,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Jan. 2026
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Many of the economy’s highest spenders fall relatively neatly into demographic age groups with predictable consumption habits.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Secrets are revealed, prodigals return, intolerances surface and family bonds are tested.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2025
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The food today is extraordinarily good and prodigal.—
Jeff Kleinman,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Start with your biggest time waster and build from there.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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For example, default settings for focus time added blocking of sites in the categories Shopping, Tabloids, and Time wasters.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In some ways, the game was set up for him, with Villa profligate but still regularly creating chances.—
Jacob Tanswell,
The Athletic,
18 Aug. 2024
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Fed up with the profligate practice, dumpster divers like Ms. Sacks have started posting videos of their haul on TikTok in recent years as a way of shaming corporations and raising awareness of the wasteful behavior.—
Steven Kurutz,
New York Times,
21 Nov. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Spendthrift.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spendthrift. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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