profligate

[ prof-li-git, -geyt ]

adjective

1. utterly and shamelessly immoral or dissipated; thoroughly dissolute.

   Synonyms: licentious, abandoned

2. recklessly prodigal or extravagant.

noun

1. a profligate person.

profligate

/ ˈprɒflɪɡəsɪ; ˈprɒflɪɡɪt /

adjective

1. shamelessly immoral or debauched
2. wildly extravagant or wasteful

noun

1. a profligate person

Derived Forms

• profligacy, noun
• ˈprofligately, adverb

Other Words From

• profli·gate·ly adverb
• profli·gate·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of profligate¹

1525–35; < Latin prōflīgātus broken down in character, degraded, originally past participle of prōflīgāre to shatter, debase, equivalent to prō- pro- ¹ + -flīgāre, derivative of flīgere to strike; inflict, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of profligate¹

C16: from Latin prōflīgātus corrupt, from prōflīgāre to overthrow, from pro- ¹+ flīgere to beat

Example Sentences

But her husband, President Emmanuel Macron, has been criticised for his own profligate spending.

From BBC

Americans have long been among the world’s most profligate tippers.

From Los Angeles Times

“Generally the criticism of owning a hot tub is it is a profligate use of energy,” he says.

From BBC

Lately this entrenched symbol of American domestic life — verdant, weed-free and crisply mowed — has come under wider scrutiny as a profligate relic, out of sync with an ecologically conscious era.

From Seattle Times

He is certainly a profligate money-burner who keeps being propped up by shady foreign banks, shadowy individuals and organizations and billionaire supporters.

From Salon

Related Words

• extravagant
• reckless