Synonyms for prodigal
- adjective
- noun
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Extravagant — profuse, lavishly abundant
extravagant, wasteful, reckless, bountiful, lavish, profuse, exuberant, liberal, wanton, abundant, plenteous, generous, a-plenty, intemperate, abounding, unrestrained, sumptuous, teeming, extreme, immoderate, excessive, unmeasured
Other
Noun
1. Spendthrift
spendthrift, waster, squanderer, spender, wastrel dated, spend-all dated, wastethrift dated, unthrift rare
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Profuse, lavishly abundant.
- n. 1
A prodigal person; a spendthrift; a wastrel.
Related words
- Word family
- prodigality prodigally
- Phrases
- prodigal son
- Is a kind of
- excessive
Forms
- Plural
- prodigals → spendthrifts, wasters, squanderers, spenders…
Choose the right word
Prodigal is stronger still, denoting unmeasured or reckless profusion; as, prodigal of one's strength, life, or blood, to secure some object.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- reckless We tried to restrain him from his reckless action.
- lavish Sami continued to lavish Layla with every attention.
- extravagant She considered him extravagant with electricity.
- bountiful Farmers harvested a bountiful oat crop this season.
- nomadic Nomadic peoples follow the water and grazing land.
- profligate He was a drunkard and a profligate.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| prodigal | rising | |
| reckless | rising | |
| lavish | rising | |
| extravagant | steady | |
| bountiful | rising | |
| nomadic | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- free1
- 6 letters
- lavish2, wanton2, waster2
- 7 letters
- liberal3, extreme2, nomadic3, teeming2, spender2, profuse2, wastrel
- 8 letters
- generous3, reckless2, abundant3, wasteful2, revenant, unthrift
- 9 letters
- excessive3, exuberant4, sumptuous2, bountiful3, abounding3, plenteous
- 10 letters
- profligate3, unmeasured, immoderate, squanderer
- 11 letters
- extravagant4, intemperate4, spendthrift2, wastethrift
- 12 letters
- unrestrained3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (lavish2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- prodigue
- Deutsch
- verschwenderisch