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
Relevance
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spendthrift
The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
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
Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
That is often viewed by us profligate, protein-burning, fat-loving energy spendthrifts as an inferior form of metabolism.
—Stephen S. Hall, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spendthrift
Adjective
Thanks to money-hungry special interests and spendthrift leaders, Californians pay among the highest corporate, sales, gas and income taxes in the nation.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
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
Noun
Finally, the claimant failed to prove that the spendthrift provision in the trust, which is critical to the protection the trust provided, should be invalidated.
—Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
That is often viewed by us profligate, protein-burning, fat-loving energy spendthrifts as an inferior form of metabolism.
—Stephen S. Hall, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spendthrift
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spendthrift
Adjective
-
Overall, this wasn’t a terrible episode, but having our heroes start in the UK and then end up in Spain in the first episode felt rushed and wasteful.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Is the packaging consciously designed or needlessly wasteful?—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
On a gross basis, Villa were the Premier League’s lowest spenders.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Top spenders included brands across the automotive, insurance, retail, technology and quick-service restaurant categories.—
Lillian Rizzo,
CNBC,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Secrets are revealed, prodigals return, intolerances surface and family bonds are tested.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2025
-
The food today is extraordinarily good and prodigal.—
Jeff Kleinman,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Who is a time waster and who is your next biggest client?—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
-
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
-
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
-
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 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share