prodigal.
Wastefully extravagant.
Meaning & usage
Wastefully extravagant.
He found himself guilty of prodigal spending during the holidays.
The prodigal son spent his share of his inheritance until he was destitute.
Yielding profusely, lavish.
She was a merry person, glad and prodigal of smiles.
How can he be so prodigal with money on such a tight budget?
Profuse, lavishly abundant.
Behaving as a prodigal son: Having (selfishly) abandoned a person, group, or ideal.
Behaving as a prodigal son: Returning or having returned, especially repentantly, after such an abandonment.
Where this word comes from
From Middle French prodigal, from Late Latin prōdigālis (“wasteful”), from Latin prōdigus (“wasteful, lavish, prodigal”), from prōdigō (“to consume, squander, drive forth”), from prōd- [from prō (“before, forward”)] + agō (“to drive”). Also see unrelated prodigy. The senses of "abandoning a person or cause" and "returning after abandonment" are by allusion to the New Testament story commonly called "The Parable of the Prodigal Son", Luke 15:11–32. See prodigal son.
A prodigal person; a spendthrift; a wastrel.
Where this word comes from
From Middle French prodigal, from Late Latin prōdigālis (“wasteful”), from Latin prōdigus (“wasteful, lavish, prodigal”), from prōdigō (“to consume, squander, drive forth”), from prōd- [from prō (“before, forward”)] + agō (“to drive”). Also see unrelated prodigy. The senses of "abandoning a person or cause" and "returning after abandonment" are by allusion to the New Testament story commonly called "The Parable of the Prodigal Son", Luke 15:11–32. See prodigal son.
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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.