prodigality

American  

[prod-i-gal-i-tee] / ˌprɒd ɪˈgæl ɪ ti /

noun

prodigalities plural

1. the quality or fact of being prodigal; wasteful extravagance in spending.

2. an instance of it.

3. lavish abundance.

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• prodigalities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prodigality

1300–50; Middle English prodigalite < Latin prōdigālitās wastefulness, equivalent to prōdig ( us ) extravagant + -āl ( is ) -al ¹ + -itās -ity

Explanation

Prodigality is excessive or extravagant spending. Your friend may feel he needs those gold chairs for his living room, but to everyone else it’s another example of his prodigality. “Idleness is the greatest prodigality,” said Ben Franklin. He was probably right, but today prodigality is more often used to talk about spending monetary resources, as opposed to other kinds of resources. Prodigality does not merely refer to spending above your means. It’s excessive or wasteful spending, often with an eye toward the luxurious. Think of the Palace of Versailles, or that film star who owns ten expensive cars but doesn’t drive. Synonyms for prodigality include extravagance, profligacy, and lavishness.

Example Sentences

"Prodigality is the spirit of the era," Social Critic Vance Packard declared in The Waste Makers 20 years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

I answer that, Prodigality considered in itself is a less grievous sin than covetousness, and this for three reasons.

From Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint

Then what canst thou say for thyself, Prodigality, That according to the law thou shouldst not die?

From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 8 by Hazlitt, William Carew

Prodigality, if thou lovest me, let us here stay: For sure I can do no more than I may.

From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 8 by Hazlitt, William Carew

Well, this is our acceptation of the term Prodigality.

From Ethics by Aristotle