as in corruption
immoral conduct or practices harmful or offensive to society
a religious leader who railed against the profligacy of the nation's decadent aristocrats
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Recent Examples of profligacy
The United States can sustain the eye-popping profligacy of its national debt only because investors consider the U.S. dollar to be a safe haven.
—
Kori Schake, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Modern Paris is an elegant monument to Haussmann’s profligacy; he was fired for spending stupefying sums of public money to force it up like winter tulips.
—Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
If there’s another deficit, as seems likely, candidates who spent the past year preaching frugality will fare better than those pushing profligacy.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 31 May 2025
But while profligacy was the bigger issue under their previous manager, chance creation has taken over that mantle under Amorim.
—Mark Carey, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profligacy
Kori Schake, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Modern Paris is an elegant monument to Haussmann’s profligacy; he was fired for spending stupefying sums of public money to force it up like winter tulips.
—Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
If there’s another deficit, as seems likely, candidates who spent the past year preaching frugality will fare better than those pushing profligacy.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 31 May 2025
But while profligacy was the bigger issue under their previous manager, chance creation has taken over that mantle under Amorim.
—Mark Carey, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for profligacy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for profligacy
Noun
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The tech giant has built in a feature called Memory Integrity Enforcement, which is designed to stop attacks targeting memory corruption bugs, often exploited by spyware developers and phone forensic tools used by law enforcement, TechCrunch reports.—
Thomas Brewster,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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The rise is coupled with major political shifts in the country following the election of President Bernardo Arévalo, who vowed to fight corruption, tackle inequality, and rectify the discrimination against Indigenous Peoples after years of democratic erosion and corruption.—
Simmone Shah,
Time,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Hank isn’t being accused of mere immorality, after all; he’s being accused of rape, which was also a crime back in Kierkegaard’s days.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
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Beyond the inherent immorality of thoughtlessly torturing and killing birds and wildlife, Death Pipes are an example of the hidden toll that people and their structures are exacting on nature.—
GrrlScientist,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The Sagrada Família was founded as an expiatory church, meaning that it would be financed by prayerful donations from people atoning for their sins.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
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Lee and her brother William would preach far and wide to attract people to their cause (a necessity, given the lifetime celibacy requirement) and their pursuit of a utopian society free of any and all sin.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As noted above, the emphasis was on the states of evil, sycophancy, and hallucination.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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The third was that the other political party is not just wrong politically but downright evil.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Profligacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/profligacy. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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