Daniel GrossJonathan ClementsBetsy Carpenter
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One sense of thrift is "careful management especially of money," and spendthrift was coined in the late 16th century to refer to someone who recklessly flouts such efforts. Synonyms of spendthrift include prodigal, waster, and wastrel. Prodigal also has the suggestion of such enthusiastic waste that it would deplete even the most lavish resources, whereas both waster and wastrel imply that in addition to wastefulness, the person has such dramatic character flaws as to be a good-for-nothing and a drain upon the community.
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Examples of spendthrift in a Sentence
Clem Chambers, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
Even for a country as awash with cash as Venezuela has been since 2004, Chávez's spendthrift ways have left behind a worrisome level of debt, fiscal deficit, and dependence on imports.
—Javier Corrales, Foreign Affairs, 4 Jan. 2013
Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
Those could have been used to constrain distributions to or for the benefit of the spendthrift child.
—Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Spendthrift.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spendthrift. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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spendthrift
1 of 2 noun
spendthrift
2 of 2 adjective
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