profligate
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profligate
- /ˈpɹɒflɪɡət/ UK
- /ˈpɹɑːflɪɡət/ US
- /ˈpɹɒflɪɡeɪt/ UK
- /ˈpɹɑːflɪɡeɪt/ US
Where it comes from
The adjective is first attested in 1535, the verb in 1542; borrowed from Latin prōflīgātus, perfect passive participle of prōflīgō (“to strike down, cast down”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 an 3) and pro-), from prō- (“forward”) + flīgō (“to strike, dash”) + -ō (1st conjugation compound verb-forming suffix). Common participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
adjective more profligate · most profligate
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Inclined to waste resources or behave extravagantly.
[H]er Reputation—That—I have no Reaſon to believe is in Queſtion—But then hovv long her profligate Courſe of Pleaſures may make her able to keep it—is a ſhocking Queſtion! and her Preſumption VVhile ſhe keeps it—inſupportable!
Similar: extravagant, wasteful, prodigal, improvident, imprudent, lavish, loose-handed, profligate, reckless, spendthrift, squandering, uneconomical
-
Immoral; abandoned to vice.
Made prostitute and profligate the muse.
Similar: immoral, licentious
- Overthrown, ruined. The foe is profligate, and run.
noun profligates
- An abandoned person; one openly and shamelessly vicious; a dissolute person. Have you come to Nelson seeking your death, profligate?
-
An overly wasteful or extravagant individual.
He proposed to call witnesses to show how the prisoner, a profligate and spendthrift, had been at the end of his financial tether, and had also been carrying on an intrigue with a certain Mrs. Raikes, a neighbouring farmer’s wife.
Similar: wastrel, big spender, dingthrift, neve, overspender, prodigal, profligate, saprophage, scattergood, slipstring, slipthrift, sparkler
verb profligates · profligating · profligated
- To drive away; to overcome. Such a stipulation would remove one powerful temptation to profligate pennyless seducers, of whom there are too many prowling in the higher circles ;
verb
- Obsolete form of profligated (past participle of profligate): profligated: routed, overcome, driven away. The Canon laws […] with their Author, are profligate out of this realm.
Translations
Every language
adj inclined to waste resources or behave extravagantly
| Español | disoluto |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 奢靡 shēmí, 揮霍 /挥霍 huīhuò, 揮霍無度 /挥霍无度 huīhuòwúdù |
| Français | dépensier |
| Deutsch | verschwenderisch |
| Italiano | dissoluto |
| Русский | неэконо́мный neekonómnyj, расточи́тельный rastočítelʹnyj |
| العربية | مُسْرِف musrif, مُبَذِّر mubaḏḏir |
adj immoral; abandoned to vice
| Español | inmoral |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 淫靡 yínmǐ, 荒淫 huāngyín |
| Italiano | dissoluto |
| Русский | распу́тный raspútnyj, развра́тный razvrátnyj |
noun abandoned person
| Русский | развра́тник razvrátnik, распу́тник raspútnik |
|---|
noun overly wasteful or extravagant individual
| Русский | расточи́тель rastočítelʹ, транжи́р tranžír, мот mot |
|---|
Talk about this word "profligate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/profligate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. profligate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/profligate "profligate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/profligate.Cite this
@misc{profligate_2026,
title = {profligate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/profligate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
