prof·li·gate

[prof-li-git, -geyt]
adjective
1.
utterly and shamelessly immoral or dissipated; thoroughly dissolute.
2.
recklessly prodigal or extravagant.
noun
3.
a profligate person.

Origin:
1525–35; < Latin prōflīgātus broken down in character, degraded, orig. past participle of prōflīgāre to shatter, debase, equivalent to prō- pro-1 + -flīgāre, derivative of flīgere to strike; see inflict, -ate1

prof·li·gate·ly, adverb
prof·li·gate·ness, noun


1. abandoned, licentious.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To profligate
00:10
Profligate is a GRE word you need to know.
So is protracted. Does it mean:
Delay.
prolong; extended in time
Collins
World English Dictionary
profligate (ˈprɒflɪɡɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  shamelessly immoral or debauched
2.  wildly extravagant or wasteful
 
n
3.  a profligate person
 
[C16: from Latin prōflīgātus corrupt, from prōflīgāre to overthrow, from pro-1 + flīgere to beat]
 
profligacy
 
n
 
'profligately
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

profligate
1526, "overthrown" (implied in profligation), from L. profligatus "destroyed, dissolute," pp. of profligare "to cast down, defeat, ruin," from pro- "down, forth" + fligere "to strike" (see afflict). Meaning "recklessly extravagant" is 1779, via notion of "ruined by vice" (1647).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
And reducing the borrowing costs of the profligate could increase them for the virtuous and reduce the incentive for reform.
Chimps are clearly not as profligate now because of human encroachment brought about by social evolution.
Even when he was castigating himself for profligate spending, he was compiling
  long shopping lists of articles de luxe.
They are pleased by his judicial appointments but mystified by his profligate
  spending.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT