profligacy
profligacy — 名詞
- profligacysingular
- profligaciesplural
1. the habit of spending far more money or using up far more of something than you
揮霍；浪費
大手大腳花錢或耗用資源的習性
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.
新市長承諾終結那種拖垮市府預算的揮霍浪費。
profligacy of public/government spending
Takeshi was shocked by the profligacy of a household that left every light burning all night.
Takeshi 對那戶人家的揮霍感到震驚，他們整夜讓每盞燈都亮著。
profligacy of [household/person] + concrete waste
Years of profligacy left the once-wealthy family with empty bank accounts and a mortgaged farm.
多年的揮霍讓這個曾經富裕的家庭只剩空帳戶和一座抵押出去的農場。
The report blamed the water shortage on decades of careless profligacy by local factories.
報告把缺水歸咎於當地工廠數十年來毫不在意的浪費。
Critics pointed to the king's profligacy, noting the gold taps and nightly feasts at the palace.
批評者指出國王的揮霍，提到宮裡的黃金水龍頭和每晚的盛宴。
- 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
放蕩；荒淫
縱情酒色賭博等違背道德的行為
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.
這名年輕繼承人的放蕩讓全村譁然，每個週末都有賭債和狂歡派對。
profligacy as immoral lifestyle
Putri's diary described the profligacy of the court, where feasting and drinking never seemed to stop.
Putri 的日記描述了宮廷的荒淫，那裡的飲宴狂歡似乎永無止境。
profligacy of [a group/court]
The preacher warned the crowd against the profligacy of cheap wine and late nights.
傳道人警告群眾要遠離廉價酒和徹夜不歸的放蕩生活。
Historians link the empire's fall to the profligacy of its rulers as much as to its wars.
史學家認為帝國的覆滅，與統治者的荒淫和連年戰爭同樣脫不了關係。
- 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.