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prodigal

3 syllables
Quick answer

As an adjective, prodigal means wastefully extravagant. As a noun, it means a prodigal person.

Meanings of prodigal

9 meanings

adjective

  1. Wastefully extravagant.

    “He found himself guilty of prodigal spending during the holidays.”

    “The prodigal son spent his share of his inheritance until he was destitute.”

  2. often followed by ofwithYielding profusely, lavish.

    “She was a merry person, glad and prodigal of smiles.”

    “How can he be so prodigal with money on such a tight budget?”

  3. Profuse, lavishly abundant.

  4. (by allusion to the New Testament story commonly called "The Parable of the Prodigal Son", Luke 15:11–32) Behaving as a prodigal son:

  5. Having (selfishly) abandoned a person, group, or ideal.

  6. Returning or having returned, especially repentantly, after such an abandonment.

  7. Recklessly wasteful

    “prodigal in their expenditures”

    Similar: extravagant, profligate, spendthrift

noun

  1. A prodigal person; a spendthrift; a wastrel.

  2. A recklessly extravagant consumerperson

    Similar: profligate, squanderer

Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).

Synonyms by meaning

adjective: recklessly wasteful
noun: a recklessly extravagant consumer
profligatesquanderer

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