spendthrift

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 9, 2012 is: spendthrift • \SPEND-thrift\  • noun : a person who spends improvidently or wastefully Examples: David complained that his eldest son was quite the spendthrift, and was always writing home from college requesting more money. "Perhaps you remember a column I wrote two years ago about Spendthrifts and Tightwads. Spendthrifts experience little pain when they buy things. Tightwads find spending money to be quite difficult. They are more inclined to regret a purchase afterward." -- From an article by Brent Hunsberger in The Oregonian, September 17, 2011 Did you know? 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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.