prodigal

[ prod-i-guhl ]
See synonyms for prodigal on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. wastefully or recklessly extravagant: prodigal expenditure.

  2. giving or yielding profusely; very generous; lavish (usually followed by of or with): prodigal of smiles; prodigal with praise.

  1. lavishly abundant; profuse: nature's prodigal resources.

noun
  1. a person who is wasteful of their money, possessions, etc.; spendthrift: In later years, he was a prodigal of his fortune.

Origin of prodigal

1
First recorded in 1500–10; back formation from prodigality

synonym study For prodigal

1. See lavish.

Other words for prodigal

Opposites for prodigal

Other words from prodigal

  • prod·i·gal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby prodigal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use prodigal in a sentence

  • In going to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he was the prodigal son playing in his homeland.

  • I doubt if the State itself has ever known the meaning of hospitality since the old ranch days, when, of course, it was prodigal.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • Here is Christianity with its marvellous parable of the prodigal Son to teach us indulgence and pardon.

    Camille (La Dame aux Camilias) | Alexandre Dumas, fils
  • Sterile, dissipated and prodigal, she made her husband very unhappy, thus avenging the first Mme. Brunner.

    Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
  • The rooks were awake in Randolph Crescent; but the windows looked down, discreetly blinded, on the return of the prodigal.

    Tales and Fantasies | Robert Louis Stevenson
  • In a pew on the left-hand side a little old man was holding forth as to the “prodigal son.”

British Dictionary definitions for prodigal

prodigal

/ (ˈprɒdɪɡəl) /


adjective
  1. recklessly wasteful or extravagant, as in disposing of goods or money

  2. lavish in giving or yielding: prodigal of compliments

noun
  1. a person who spends lavishly or squanders money

Origin of prodigal

1
C16: from Medieval Latin prōdigālis wasteful, from Latin prōdigus lavish, from prōdigere to squander, from pro- 1 + agere to drive

Derived forms of prodigal

  • prodigality, noun
  • prodigally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012