Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Plentiful; copious.
  • adjective Giving or given freely and abundantly; extravagant.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Liberal to excess; extravagant; lavish; prodigal: as, profuse hospitality; profuse expenditure.
  • Abundant; exuberant; bountiful; copious: as, profuse ornament; profuse compliment.
  • Synonyms Lavish, etc. See extravagant.
  • To pour out; dispense liberally; lavish; squander.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To pour out; to give or spend liberally; to lavish; to squander.
  • adjective Pouring forth with fullness or exuberance; bountiful; exceedingly liberal; giving without stint
  • adjective Superabundant; excessive; prodigal; lavish.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective In great quantity or abundance.
  • verb obsolete To pour out; to give or spend liberally; to lavish; to squander.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective produced or growing in extreme abundance

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, lavish, from Latin profūsus, past participle of profundere, to pour forth : pro-, forth; see pro– + fundere, to pour; see gheu- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • Peter Kemp further complains of the "pitiless prolixity" with which Aue tells his story and doubts "Aue's prodigious capacity to recall in profuse, minute detail all that was done and said ...."

    Point of View in Fiction 2009

  • Peter Kemp further complains of the "pitiless prolixity" with which Aue tells his story and doubts "Aue's prodigious capacity to recall in profuse, minute detail all that was done and said ...."

    Translated Texts 2010

  • Peter Kemp further complains of the "pitiless prolixity" with which Aue tells his story and doubts "Aue's prodigious capacity to recall in profuse, minute detail all that was done and said ...."

    Furies 2009

  • Peter Kemp further complains of the "pitiless prolixity" with which Aue tells his story and doubts "Aue's prodigious capacity to recall in profuse, minute detail all that was done and said ...."

    December 2009 2009

  • 32 The greater part of the nobles, who dissipated their fortunes in profuse luxury, found themselves poor in the midst of wealth, and idle in a constant round of dissipation.

    The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206

  • Fruits and flowers, interwoven in heavy garlands and overflowing from baskets and urns, carry out the idea of profuse abundance.

    The Jewel City Ben Macomber

  • But if there is a marked increase over the amount usual for the individual, if great weakness and prostration is produced, either at the time or afterward, it may be called profuse, and the cause may be either debility, that is weakness, or plethora, which means fullness.

    What a Young Woman Ought to Know Mary Wood-Allen 1874

  • 'How thoroughly am I converted to the love of Jean Paul, and wonder at the indolence or shallowness which could resist so long, and call his profuse riches want of system!

    Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli Ossoli, Margaret F 1851

  • 'How thoroughly am I converted to the love of Jean Paul, and wonder at the indolence or shallowness which could resist so long, and call his profuse riches want of system!

    Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli, Volume I Margaret Fuller 1830

  • Here they may produce an inflammation of the lining of the womb, causing severe pain and other symptoms, such as profuse discharge.

    Herself Talks with Women Concerning Themselves

Comments

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  • 'Ueberschwänglich' TOP 5 BASIC

    S: Excessive, Prodigal, Extravagant, Superabundant, Copious, Exuberant, Lavish

    A: Lacking, Wanting, Sparse, Moderate

    October 25, 2013