spendthrift

[spend-thrift]

noun

1. a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; prodigal.

adjective

1. wastefully extravagant; prodigal.

   Synonyms: profligate, improvident, wasteful

spendthrift

/ ˈspɛndˌθrɪft /

noun

1. a person who spends money in an extravagant manner

adjective

1. (usually prenominal) of or like a spendthrift

   spendthrift economies

Word History and Origins

Origin of spendthrift¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; spend + thrift

Word History and Origins

Origin of spendthrift¹

C17: from _spend + _thrift

Example Sentences

No one today any longer wishes to hear jokes about nagging mothers-in-law, spendthrift wives or old jalopies, and the men and women who once told them to hardy plaudits are now forgotten.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When the left returns to power, it will return to its spendthrift and inflationary ways without a monetary reform that makes it harder than printing more pesos.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Trusts also allow you to put restrictions on how money is spent, which can be important if your heir is a minor child, a spendthrift or someone reliant on public benefits.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And his book also took a decidedly conservative view – describing them as chronic spendthrifts, dependent on welfare payments and mostly failing to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

Read more on BBC

The U.S. government is hardly a spendthrift with arts dollars, but what if it were to pony up for the industry again?

Read more on New York Times