profligacy
profligacy — noun
- profligacysingular
- profligaciesplural
1. the habit of spending far more money or using up far more of something than you
the habit of spending far more money or using up far more of something than you really need, so that a lot of it is thrown away for nothing
The new mayor promised to end the profligacy that had drained the city's budget.
profligacy of public/government spending
Takeshi was shocked by the profligacy of a household that left every light burning all night.
profligacy of [household/person] + concrete waste
Years of profligacy left the once-wealthy family with empty bank accounts and a mortgaged farm.
The report blamed the water shortage on decades of careless profligacy by local factories.
Critics pointed to the king's profligacy, noting the gold taps and nightly feasts at the palace.
- extravagance
neutral-to-negative; spending lavishly, not always with the strong waste blame of profligacy
- wastefulness
plainer everyday word for the same idea of using more than needed
- prodigality
equally formal and literary; stresses reckless, large-scale spending
文法句型
profligacy of [resource]
the profligacy of [person/group]
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person, government, or institution seen as wasting money or resources; often paired with 'of' plus the thing wasted (profligacy of spending, profligacy of energy). Distinguish from sense 2, which is about loose moral conduct rather than waste.
常見錯誤
2. behaviour that breaks accepted moral rules, especially giving yourself up freely
behaviour that breaks accepted moral rules, especially giving yourself up freely to drinking, gambling, and other low pleasures
The young heir's profligacy scandalised the village, with gambling debts and wild parties every weekend.
profligacy as immoral lifestyle
Putri's diary described the profligacy of the court, where feasting and drinking never seemed to stop.
profligacy of [a group/court]
The preacher warned the crowd against the profligacy of cheap wine and late nights.
Historians link the empire's fall to the profligacy of its rulers as much as to its wars.
- dissipation
very close; wasting one's life on pleasure and self-indulgence
- debauchery
stronger; stresses heavy drinking and sexual excess
- licentiousness
formal; emphasises ignoring moral and sexual rules
- restraint
holding back from indulgence
- temperance
moderation, especially with alcohol and appetites
文法句型
the profligacy of [person/era]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about loose, dissolute living (drinking, gambling, sexual excess), not about wasting money. It is the rarer, more literary use and often appears in moralising or historical writing.