Standard Lemma guide

prodigal

adj · noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈpɹɒdɪɡəl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˈpɹɑdɪɡəl/
  • US: [ˈphɹɑɾɪɡɫ̩]
  • CMU ARPABET: P R AA1 D IH0 G AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Wastefully extravagant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He found himself guilty of prodigal spending during the holidays.
  • The prodigal son spent his share of his inheritance until he was destitute.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lavish, squandering

Antonyms: frugal, abstemious, canny, chary, moderate, cheap, close with a buck, economic, economical, husbandly, huswifely, parsimonious, penny-pinching, prudent, spareful, sparing, spary, thrifty, tight, tightwad

2

adj

Meaning 2

Yielding profusely, lavish.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: often

Examples

  • She was a merry person, glad and prodigal of smiles.
  • How can he be so prodigal with money on such a tight budget?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: free, generous, liberal

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Profuse, lavishly abundant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inordinate, superabundant, abundant, abounding, ample, aplenty, brimming, copious, galore, generous, lavish, numerous, overflowing, plenteous, plentiful, prodigal, profuse, prolific, teeming, bountiful, exuberant, liberal, uberous, largifluous, plentevous, largifical, profluent, devilish, excessive, de trop, extravagant, extreme, immoderate, intemperate, nimious, obscene, overmuch, overweening, over the top, undue, unmeasured, unreasonable, unrestrained, wanton

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Behaving as a prodigal son:

Having (selfishly) abandoned a person, group, or ideal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Behaving as a prodigal son:

Returning or having returned, especially repentantly, after such an abandonment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A prodigal person; a spendthrift; a wastrel.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: big spender, dingthrift, neve, overspender, prodigal, profligate, saprophage, scattergood, slipstring, slipthrift, sparkler, spend-all, spendthrift, splurge, splurger, squanderer, unthrift, waster, wastegood, wastethrift, wastrel

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

recklessly wasteful

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • prodigal in their expenditures

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: extravagant, profligate, spendthrift

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

a recklessly extravagant consumer

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: profligate, squanderer

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: consumer

Narrower terms: spendthrift, spend-all, spender, scattergood, wastrel, waster

History

Etymology

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.

Across languages

Translations

53 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُسْرِف (musrif) — wastefully extravagant
  • Azerbaijani: bədxərc — wastefully extravagant
  • Azerbaijani: israfcıl — wastefully extravagant
  • Bulgarian: разточителен (raztočitelen) — wastefully extravagant
  • Bulgarian: прахоснически (prahosničeski) — wastefully extravagant
  • Catalan: pròdig — wastefully extravagant
  • Czech: marnotratný — wastefully extravagant
  • Dutch: kwistig — wastefully extravagant
  • Finnish: tuhlaavainen — wastefully extravagant
  • French: prodigue — wastefully extravagant
  • German: verschwenderisch — wastefully extravagant
  • Icelandic: hóflaus — wastefully extravagant
  • Icelandic: hóflaust — wastefully extravagant
  • Irish: anaisteach — wastefully extravagant
  • Irish: caifeach — wastefully extravagant
  • Irish: díobhlásach — wastefully extravagant
  • Italian: prodigo — wastefully extravagant
  • Italian: generoso — wastefully extravagant
  • Japanese: 放蕩 (hōtō) — wastefully extravagant
  • Latin: prōdigus — wastefully extravagant
  • Latin: prōdigālis — wastefully extravagant
  • Malay: pemboros — wastefully extravagant
  • Malayalam: ധൂർത്ത (dhūṟtta) — wastefully extravagant
  • Persian: ولخرج (velxarj) — wastefully extravagant
  • Polish: marnotrawny — wastefully extravagant
  • Polish: rozrzutny — wastefully extravagant
  • Portuguese: pródigo — wastefully extravagant
  • Slovak: márnotratný — wastefully extravagant
  • Spanish: pródigo — wastefully extravagant
  • Swedish: slösaktig — wastefully extravagant
  • Tagalog: masakmata — wastefully extravagant
  • Turkish: müsrif — wastefully extravagant
  • Turkish: savurgan — wastefully extravagant
  • Welsh: afradlon — wastefully extravagant
  • Bulgarian: щедър (štedǎr) — lavish
  • Finnish: tuhlaavainen — lavish
  • German: großzügig — lavish
  • German: freigebig — lavish
  • Macedonian: да́режлив (dárežliv) — lavish
  • Macedonian: ште́дар (štédar) — lavish
  • Spanish: pródigo — lavish
  • Bulgarian: прекомерен (prekomeren) — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • Finnish: ylenpalttinen — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • German: übermäßig — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • German: im Überfluß — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • German: in Hülle und Fülle — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • German: üppig — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • German: überquellend — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • German: überreichlich — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • German: enorm — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • Macedonian: изо́билен (izóbilen) — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • Macedonian: о́билен (óbilen) — profuse, lavishly abundant
  • Macedonian: преку́мерен (prekúmeren) — profuse, lavishly abundant