Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Rashly or wastefully extravagant.
- adjective Giving or given in abundance; lavish or profuse: synonym: profuse.
- noun One who is given to wasteful luxury or extravagance.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Given to extravagant expenditure; expending money or other property without necessity; profuse; lavish; wasteful: said of persons: as, a prodigal man; the prodigal son.
- Profuse; lavish; wasteful: said of things: as, a prodigal expenditure of money.
- Very liberal; lavishly bountiful: as, nature is prodigal of her gifts.
- Proud.
- noun One who expends money extravagantly or without necessity; one who is profuse or lavish; a waster; a spendthrift.
- noun In civil law. a person of full age for whom, by judicial authority, a curator is appointed, by reason of his inability to attend to his obligations and estate.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who expends money extravagantly, viciously, or without necessity; one that is profuse or lavish in any expenditure; a waster; a spendthrift.
- adjective Given to extravagant expenditure; expending money or other things without necessity; recklessly or viciously profuse; lavish; wasteful; not frugal or economical
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective wastefully
extravagant . - adjective someone
yielding profusely ,lavish - adjective
profuse , lavishlyabundant - adjective returning after abandoning a person, group, or ideal, especially for selfish reasons; being a
prodigal son . - noun A prodigal person, a
spendthrift .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective recklessly wasteful
- noun a recklessly extravagant consumer
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"The foogin 'prodigal RETURNS" made me laugh out loud.
Morning Owl Roger Langridge 2008
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The word prodigal, from Greek , doesn’t mean “wayward”; it means “wastefully extravagant.”
God Attachment Dr. Tim Clinton 2010
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The word prodigal, from Greek , doesn’t mean “wayward”; it means “wastefully extravagant.”
God Attachment Dr. Tim Clinton 2010
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The word prodigal, from Greek , doesn’t mean “wayward”; it means “wastefully extravagant.”
God Attachment Dr. Tim Clinton 2010
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Yo, bible bashing book dad, your bastard prodigal is a man of science.
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror: The Year's Best Science Fiction 05th Annual Collection - Gardner Dozois Blue Tyson 2008
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When the prodigal is brought home to his father it is meet that we should make merry and be glad (Luke xv. 32); and when the marriage of the Lamb has come let us be glad and rejoice (Rev. xix.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon) 1721
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Let it be noticed that this is a thoroughly Calvinistic parable in that the prodigal was a son, and could not lose that relationship.
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If this were the _hired_ class, the prodigal was a sorry specimen of humility.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus American Anti-Slavery Society
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If this were the _hired_ class, the prodigal was a sorry specimen of humility.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus American Anti-Slavery Society
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The parable of the prodigal is a picture of the latter kind.
The Parables of Our Lord William Arnot
Louises commented on the word prodigal
Find out if the old lady approved of this prodigal arrangement
February 19, 2013