extravagance
Americannoun
-
excessive or unnecessary expenditure or outlay of money.
- Antonyms:
- frugality
-
an instance of this.
That sports car is an inexcusable extravagance.
-
unrestrained or fantastic excess, as of actions or opinions.
- Synonyms:
- profusion, lavishness
-
an extravagant action, notion, etc..
the extravagances one commits in moments of stress.
noun
-
excessive outlay of money; wasteful spending
-
immoderate or absurd speech or behaviour
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.
Vocabulary lists containing extravagance
The Crucible
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The Importance of Being Earnest
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "E" and "F"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was a co-editor of the Ecologist and now edits a magazine called The Land; he’s also the author of a book, Meat: A Benign Extravagance, a thoughtful and rigorous trawl through the evidence.
From The Guardian • Mar. 16, 2019
"Extravagance is his personality" but it also serves a purpose in projecting strength, said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2018
Extravagance is also what Cinecittà, at its height, was all about.
From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2014
Extravagance is apparently no longer the taboo it used to be in Asia.
From Reuters • Aug. 17, 2011
Extravagance as an Artistic Means.—Artists well understand the idea of using extravagance as an artistic means in order to convey an impression of wealth.
From Human, All-Too-Human, Part II by Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
