as in wasteful
given to spending money freely or foolishly
profligate movie producers hoping to create the next blockbuster
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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
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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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of profligate
Brooke Seipel, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2024
But Carbonneau’s profligate spending, dubious investments and mismanagement of Mulrooney’s mining companies emptied the couple’s bank accounts.
—Melanie Haiken, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
New York Times, 5 Jan. 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
Gold has emerged as an attractive hedge against rising inflation, profligate fiscal policies, and geopolitical instability.
—Brooke Seipel, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2024
But Carbonneau’s profligate spending, dubious investments and mismanagement of Mulrooney’s mining companies emptied the couple’s bank accounts.
—Melanie Haiken, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
Noun
After years of profligate spending, the city had dwindling tax revenues and huge budget deficits; was low on cash for operating expenses; and, unable to borrow more, faced horrendous personnel layoffs, service cuts and bond defaults.
—New York Times, 5 Jan. 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
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This knitwear brand doesn’t follow the traditional (often wasteful) fashion cycle, and instead continuously adds to an ongoing collection ideal for any season or aesthetic.Cortne Bonilla, Vogue, 6 Dec. 2024
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When there’s a void in responsibility, filmmaking can become a very exploitative, wasteful and even dangerous activity.Jamie Lang, Variety, 4 Dec. 2024
Noun
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That’s half a trillion sucked out of the market and into the bottomless pit of the incontinent spendthrifts in the U.S. government.Clem Chambers, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
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Even for a country as awash with cash as Venezuela has been since 2004, Chávez's spendthrift ways have left behind a worrisome level of debt, fiscal deficit, and dependence on imports.Javier Corrales, Foreign Affairs, 4 Jan. 2013
Noun
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On The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, these now-geriatric degenerates will duke it out for the only prize worth fighting for: making their kids proud.Emma Sharpe, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2024
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There’s the medieval brutality: Gómez was a homicidal degenerate who collected torture methods instead of stamps.Tim Padgett, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Henry Muck, suitably nicknamed Prince Hal by his family and friends, may be Industry’s version of the ultimate privileged wastrel.Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2024
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Atay lingers on the outskirts, keeping the company of workers and wastrels, poets and drunks—all those who refuse the monumental transformations of Turkish society.Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The interplay between pervert audience and chastising host is a delicate dance, as old as time.Bethy Squires, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
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Five states and Washington, D.C. have referendums next month that could profoundly change—and pervert—the way each conducts elections.Steve Forbes, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024
Noun
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After all, there’s always one prodigal — one unstable element who’s removed themself as far as possible from the precarious family mixture.Sara Holdren, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2024
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He is angered by his father’s instant acceptance of the prodigal’s return.Scott Burns, Dallas News, 18 Dec. 2020
Noun
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Among the signature elements essential to the design are the contiguous oval shape and the gradual slope — also known as the rake — of the seating.Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2024
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After pulling up your tomato plants, place the plants to the side and grab your rake.Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Photo: Brown Harris Stevens Above the bedroom is a double-height library, which turns the sloping ceiling behind a mansard roof into a design feature rather than a space waster.Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 24 Oct. 2024
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California is moving to outlaw watering some grass that’s purely decorative Today, the lawn is among the biggest wasters of water in our urban environment — by some estimates accounting for more than half of the gallons used by city residents each year.Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Profligate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profligate. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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