prodigality

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
“
He lavished gold and silver with prodigality, and gave a number of prostitutes rich dowries; he distributed the titles of princes and dukes, gave great banquets at Poggio Reale and at Posilipo, to which he invited the Viceroy, and sent his wife and mother in magnificent dresses to visit the Duchess of Arcos.

View all »
Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun Extravagant wastefulness.
  2. noun Profuse generosity.
  3. noun Extreme abundance; lavishness.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • The presumptuous weak who mistake the wish of distinction for the workings of talent, admire the eccentricities of the gifted youth who is reared in opulence, and, mistaking the prodigality which is only the effect of his fortune, for the attributes of his talents, imitate his errors, and imagine that, by copying the blemishes of his conduct, they possess what is illustrious in his mind. —  The Life, Studies, And Works Of Benjamin West, Esq.
  • Hanska he defended himself against the charge of prodigality, these "good bargains" still continued. —  Honoré de Balzac
  • Sigismund's lack of foresight and his prodigality were notorious. —  Charles the Bold
  • What we would combat is foolish prodigality, the selfish use of wealth, and above all the quest of the superfluous on the part of those who have the greatest need of taking thought for the necessary. —  The Simple Life
  • Avarice sometimes produces prodigality, and prodigality avarice: we are often firm from weakness, and daring from timidity No. —  Classic French Course in English
More examples »
 

Tags

prodigality hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 121 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English prodigalite, from Old French, from Late Latin prōdigālitās, from Latin prōdigus, prodigal, from prōdigere, drive away, to squander : prōd-, prō-, for, forth; see proud + agere, to drive; see ag- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French prodigalité = Provencal prodigalitat = Spanish prodigalidad = Portuguese prodigalidade = Italian prodigalità, from Late Latin prodigalita(t-)s, wastefulness, from (Middle Latin) prodigalis, wasteful, lavish: see prodigal.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/prɑdɪˈgæləti/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about once a month.

Recently looked up

rationalism · buckling · painstaking · broidery · transitions

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

qualms · poofter · oh for heaven's sake · embodies · silence