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.
Trust that if you’ve never enjoyed your eggs with such extravagance and complexity, it will change your palate for the better.
From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026
To anyone who disagreed with the need for a ship, Del Toro would explain that it was not an extravagance.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
He says most buyers are not chasing extravagance as much as efficiency.
From BBC • Feb. 8, 2026
AFP reporters spent a night out on the town on a recent December evening to document a city known for its excess exploding into full-blown extravagance.
From Barron's • Dec. 22, 2025
Estimates ranged as high as two hundred, though such extravagance seems implausible even for a man of his appetite.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
