extravagance

American  

[ik-strav-uh-guhns] / ɪkˈstræv ə gəns /

noun

extravagances plural

1. excessive or unnecessary expenditure or outlay of money.

   Antonyms:

   frugality

2. an instance of this.

   That sports car is an inexcusable extravagance.

3. unrestrained or fantastic excess, as of actions or opinions.

   Synonyms:

   profusion, lavishness

4. an extravagant action, notion, etc..

   the extravagances one commits in moments of stress.

---

extravagance British  

/ ɪkˈstrævəɡəns /

noun

1. excessive outlay of money; wasteful spending

2. immoderate or absurd speech or behaviour

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• extravagances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of extravagance

1635–45; < French, Middle French; see extravagant, -ance

Explanation

Use the noun extravagance when you're talking about something that's over the top, especially when it comes to spending money. Ordering a $500 hamburger for dinner would be an extravagance. Money is usually the subject when people talk about extravagance, although the word can also mean having too much of something, whether it's anger or flowery wallpaper. In Latin, the root word extravagari means "wander outside or beyond," and originally extravagance was used to describe something that was unusual — "wandering outside" the norm. It wasn't until the 1700s that the word became associated specifically with spending too much money.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

extravagance extravagances

In the background to all of that extravagance was a pending Premier League judgment against Man City on 115 charges of breaching financial regulations over the course of a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

“Drag is often obviously about a certain kind of extravagance and fabulousness and Maddie is very humble,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026

He says most buyers are not chasing extravagance as much as efficiency.

From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2026

The coziness comes from structure: meals designed to nourish through cold months, to make use of preserved ingredients, to create warmth without extravagance.

From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026

After all, had the Roman general not met her superior standards of luxury and extravagance?

From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby

Saudi Arabia is focusing on Vision 2030's more pragmatic ventures as extravagances like NEOM, a futuristic city in the desert, and Riyadh's cuboid skyscraper Mukaab, are scaled back or scrapped to save costs.

From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026

Prosecutors say Mr Biden "wilfully" failed to either pay or file his taxes to the Internal Revenue Service from 2016 to 2019, instead spending his money on personal extravagances.

From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2024

The One and its myriad extravagances are reserved for sheiks and nobles, celebrities and CEOs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2021

That is to say, every person to cross its doors is entitled to the most lavish extravagances imaginable.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2021

Though all his others break, this shall forever hold, regardless of how many gallant extravagances he may put on it.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

Related Words

• absurdity
• exaggeration
• excess
• luxury
• squandering