Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The character or condition of being profligate; a profligate or very vicious course of life; abandoned conduct; shameless dissipation.
- noun Synonyms Shamelessness. See
abandoned .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality of state of being profligate; a profligate or very vicious course of life; a state of being abandoned in moral principle and in vice; dissoluteness.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun countable Careless
wastefulness . - noun uncountable
Shameless andimmoral behaviour.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the trait of spending extravagantly
- noun dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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T.is warmth was stopped by Augustus Hervey, who spoke to order, and called for the question; but young T. T.wnshend confirmed, that the term profligacy was applied by all mankind to the conduct on the warrants.
The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford — Volume 3 Horace Walpole 1757
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Only profligacy from the Italians and good goalkeeping from Igor Akinfeev prevented Inter increasing their lead.
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Only profligacy from the Italians and good goalkeeping from Igor Akinfeev prevented Inter increasing their lead.
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On the subject of guilt about spending money on books, I read an article a few years ago which talked about the principle of ‘Pleasure per pound spent’. i.e. one person’s irresponsible profligacy is another’s totally justifiable purchase because of the amount of pleasure involved.
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In the realm of coin profligacy, does the rise of the discarded dime mean that nickels were passed by?
David Finkle: These Days It's Dimes That Are a Dime a Dozen 2009
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I am a retired Pastor but if I lived out my days in open, proud adultery and, after my wife divorced me, fornication and died unrepentant, no Church would bury me, let alone one to which I did not belong, had never had any spiritual authority over me, and in whose community my profligacy were a byword.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Texas megachurch refuses to bury gay veteran: 2007
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The consequence of this state of things is the prevalence of the greatest profligacy, which is fostered by the innumerable herd of monks who infest the country.
The Letter-Bag of Lady Elizabeth Spencer-Stanhope — Volume 1 A. M. W. [Compiler] Stirling
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As I have argued before, it is the "profligacy" of Germany's Mediterranean trading partners that has allowed it to rack up huge current account surpluses and therefore run smaller budget deficits than the PIIGS countries.
Marshall Auerback: Germany Faces a Messy Break-up With the Euro Marshall Auerback 2010
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As I have argued before, it is the "profligacy" of Germany's Mediterranean trading partners that has allowed it to rack up huge current account surpluses and therefore run smaller budget deficits than the PIIGS countries.
Marshall Auerback: Germany Faces a Messy Break-up with the Euro Marshall Auerback 2010
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As I have argued before, it is the "profligacy" of Germany's Mediterranean trading partners that has allowed it to rack up huge current account surpluses and therefore run smaller budget deficits than the PIIGS countries.
Marshall Auerback: Germany Faces a Messy Break-up With the Euro Marshall Auerback 2010
bilby commented on the word profligacy
"Confronted with the twin disasters of climate change and an impending oil peak, it is hard to see how anyone could justify the assertion that the need to drive a car which can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles an hour in 4.5 seconds (the Audi S4 for example) overrides the Ethiopians' need to avoid recurrent famines, or the whole world's need to avoid the economic catastrophe we'll suffer if petroleum peaks too soon. The speed and acceleration of our cars is a form of profligacy at which all future generations will goggle. The main reason why improvements in energy efficiency have been so slow to take effect is that manufacturers insist on sustaining performance."
- 'Heat', George Monbiot.
February 19, 2008
mcritz commented on the word profligacy
“McCain's top advisers privately fumed at Palin’s outrageous profligacy.�?
From Newsweek: http://awurl.com/gIhkcGuDv
November 6, 2008