Standard Lemma guide

spendthrift

adj · noun · 6 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈspɛn(d)θɹɪft/
  • General-American: /ˈspɛn(d)ˌθɹɪft/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: S P EH1 N D TH R IH2 F T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Improvident, profligate, or wasteful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Extravagant or lavish.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Anything that distributes its attributes profusely, without restraint.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

recklessly wasteful

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • prodigal in their expenditures

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: extravagant, prodigal, profligate

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

someone who spends money prodigally

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spend-all, spender, scattergood

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: prodigal, profligate, squanderer

Narrower terms: big spender, high roller

History

Etymology

From spend + thrift (“(archaic) savings; profits; wealth”).

Across languages

Translations

104 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُسْرِف (musrif) — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Arabic: مُبَذِّر (mubaḏḏir) — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Bulgarian: разточителен (raztočitelen) — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Bulgarian: прахоснически (prahosničeski) — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Chinese Mandarin: 挥霍无度 (huīhuòwúdù) — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Czech: utrácivý — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Czech: rozmařilý — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Danish: ødsel — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Dutch: verkwistend — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Dutch: spilziek — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Dutch: verspillend — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Finnish: tuhlaavainen — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • French: dépensier — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • French: prodigue — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Galician: desbaldidor — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Galician: desbaldidora — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • German: verschwenderisch — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Hebrew: פַּזְרָן — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Hungarian: költekező — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Hungarian: pazarló — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Indonesian: berfoya-foya — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Khmer: ចាយវាយ (caayviəy) — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Macedonian: раси́пнички (rasípnički) — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Malayalam: ധൂർത്തൻ (dhūṟttaṉ) — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Persian: خَراج — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Persian: تَلَفکار — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Polish: rozrzutny — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Portuguese: gastador — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Russian: расточительный (rastočitelʹnyj) — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Spanish: pródigo — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Spanish: manirroto — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Turkish: müsrif — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Turkish: savurgan — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Turkish: çarçurcu — improvident, profligate, or wasteful
  • Czech: hojný — extravagant, lavish
  • Czech: opulentní — extravagant, lavish
  • Finnish: ylenpalttinen — extravagant, lavish
  • Hungarian: pazar — extravagant, lavish
  • Polish: suty — extravagant, lavish
  • Polish: hojny — extravagant, lavish
  • Tagalog: buyangyang — extravagant, lavish
  • Arabic: مُبَذِّر (mubaḏḏir) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Arabic: مُسْرِف (musrif) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Bulgarian: прахосник (prahosnik) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Chinese Cantonese: 敗家仔 /败家仔 (baai6 gaa1 zai2) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Chinese Mandarin: 敗家子 /败家子 (bàijiāzǐ) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Chinese Mandarin: 浪子 (làngzǐ) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Chuvash: якатмӑш (jak̬atmăš) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Czech: hýřil — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Czech: rozmařilec — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Czech: marnotratník — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Estonian: raharaiskaja — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Finnish: tuhlari — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Finnish: tuhluri — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Finnish: tuhlaaja — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Finnish: hassaaja — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • French: dépensier — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • French: gaspilleur — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • French: prodigue — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • German: Verschwender — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • German: Verschwenderin — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • German: Prasser — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • German: Prasserin — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Greek: σπάταλος (spátalos) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Icelandic: eyðslukló — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Italian: spendaccione — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Japanese: 使い手 (tsukaite) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Japanese: 浪費家 (rōhika) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Japanese: 極道 (gokudō) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Latin: prōflīgātor — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Latin: consumptor — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Macedonian: ра́сипник (rásipnik) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Norman: dêpensyi — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Norman: gaspilleux — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Norman: saccageux — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Norman: trébuque-bein — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Northern Altai: ӱредигчи (üredigči) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Northern Altai: пир ме шеберлебес кижи (pir me šeberlebes kiži) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Persian: ولخرج (velxarj) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Plautdietsch: Spendobbel — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Polish: rozrzutnik — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Polish: rozrzutnica — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Polish: utracjusz — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Polish: utracjuszka — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Portuguese: gastador — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Portuguese: gastadora — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Portuguese: gastadeira — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Russian: расточи́тель (rastočítelʹ) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Russian: мот (mot) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Russian: транжи́р (tranžír) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Serbo-Croatian: распикућа — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Serbo-Croatian: raspikuća — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Spanish: gastador — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Spanish: gastadora — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Spanish: pródigo — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Spanish: manirroto — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Swedish: spenderbyxa — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Swedish: slösare — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Tagalog: labusak — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Tamil: ஊதாரி (ūtāri) — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Turkish: müsrif — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Turkish: savurgan — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Yoruba: arungún — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully
  • Yoruba: àpà — someone who spends money improvidently or wastefully