Word of the Day Archive
Sunday January 8, 2012
profligacy \PROF-li-guh-see\
, noun:
1. Reckless extravagance.
2. Shameless dissoluteness.
3. Great abundance.
The extravagance and general profligacy which he scrupled not to lay at Mr. Wickham's charge, exceedingly shocked her; the more so, as she could bring no proof of its injustice.
-- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
The profligacy of a man of fashion is looked upon with much less contempt and aversion, than that of a man of meaner condition.
-- Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Profligacy comes from the Latin word prōflīgātus which meant "broken down in character or degraded."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for profligacy
