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Synonyms

thriftless

American  
[thrift-lis] / ˈθrɪft lɪs /

adjective

  1. without thrift; improvident; wasteful.

  2. Archaic. useless or pointless.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of thriftless

1350–1400; Middle English: unsuccessful. See thrift, -less

Explanation

Someone who is thriftless is careless about spending and saving their money. If you spend all of your allowance on candy, week after week, you are thriftless. The adjective thriftless is the opposite of thrifty. When you're thrifty, you possess the quality of thrift, which means being careful about saving money and other resources. When you're thriftless, you lack this habit of thrift; you can see this in the suffix -less, which means "lacking." The good news is that you can cure yourself of being thriftless by getting in the habit of saving at least as much as you spend.

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Vocabulary lists containing thriftless

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.

See Examples For:

“I was in Albuquerque and it rained every day but no one collected the water,” one woman said in a scandalised tone, deflecting shame on to thriftless New Mexicans.

From The Guardian Jul. 15, 2015

Nothing can pry them away from that; the City is what they want it to be: thriftless, warm, scary and full of amiable strangers.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

But even in the wealthier abbeys we find traces of thriftless administration, idleness, self-indulgence and occasionally grave moral scandals.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various

All these facts make it sufficiently clear that England was irritated rather than crushed by Henry’s irregular taxation and thriftless expenditure.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5 English History by Various

I'm a safe carle, and can spae fortunes as well as blaw up thae green bags wi' thriftless wind.

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 4 by Various

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