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
Demetris Nellas, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2025
Musk has been sounding the alarm about the nation's profligate spending.
—Alex Nitzberg, Fox News, 27 Dec. 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
When the profligate first four years of socialist rule, from 1981-85, resulted in a rapidly deteriorating economy, Papandreou elevated Simitis to be finance minister and oversee a tight austerity program.
—Demetris Nellas, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2025
Musk has been sounding the alarm about the nation's profligate spending.
—Alex Nitzberg, Fox News, 27 Dec. 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
-
President Trump and his chief cost-cutter, Elon Musk, contend the aid and development work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda.—
Ellen Knickmeyer,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2025
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In addition to paring back federal employment rosters (more on that below), Trump has ordered Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to seek ways to eliminate wasteful spending.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Worst of all, many said, were the broadsides delivered by Mr. Musk and the White House portraying the agency as a rogue, criminal agency run by spendthrift officials pursuing their personal agendas.—
Declan Walsh,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2025
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Brown reduced the number from 10.0 in spendthrift Schwarzenegger’s last year to an average of 9.26 over eight years.—
John Seiler,
Orange County Register,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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This 24-hour dive near Uptown is for true degenerates looking to extend the party to unholy hours.—
David Hudnall,
Kansas City Star,
28 Jan. 2025
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At another point, a surface-to-air missile takes out a passenger airliner, something that really happened — but the attack is as purposeless here as the tragic original event, other than to remind us that Valet, who surveys the wreckage for valuables, is a degenerate.—
Boris Fishman,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2025
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
-
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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Another of the girls called Essex a pervert, which prompted their mother to ask more questions.—
Keri Blakinger,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Dec. 2024
-
The imagery is intended to mock and reflect modern Japan in some way — from the overworked salarymen gleefully staging suicidal leaps off of buildings to the schoolgirls (who, in the dream, have cell phones for heads) exposing themselves to perverts (who also have cell phones for heads).—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
28 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Instead, all the adulation is directed toward Charlotte’s prodigal adopted son, the guy who holds more than his share of team records and is considered by many to be the best player in franchise history.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Jan. 2025
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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
Noun
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Aerodynamic rakes are metal fence-like structures covered in sensors that are typically positioned around the front axle or rear axle and diffuser.—
Yara Elshebiny,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
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If the rake tines or hoe or shovel blade are up and then stepped upon, there is a potential danger of injury.—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Articles Related to profligate
Cite this Entry
“Profligate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profligate. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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