different between irresponsible vs prodigal

English

Etymology

From ir- +? responsible.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??r??sp?ns?bl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?r??sp?ns?b?l/

Adjective

irresponsible (comparative more irresponsible, superlative most irresponsible)

1. (now rare) Not responsible; exempt from legal responsibility, not to be held accountable.
   • 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, Oxford 2009, p. 28:

     They left the crown what, in the eye and estimation of law, it had ever been, perfectly irresponsible.

2. Lacking a sense of responsibility; performed or acting as though without responsibility; negligent.

Translations

Noun

irresponsible (plural irresponsibles)

1. Someone who is not responsible.

References

• irresponsible in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• irresponsible in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

See also

• unresponsive

English

Etymology

From Middle French prodigal, from Late Latin pr?dig?lis (“wasteful”), from Latin pr?digus (“wasteful, lavish, prodigal”), from pr?dig? (“to consume, squander, drive forth”), from pr?d- [from pr? (“before, forward”)] + ag? (“to drive”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p??d???l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?p??d???l/, [?p????????]

Adjective

prodigal (comparative more prodigal, superlative most prodigal)

1. Wastefully extravagant.

   He found himself guilty of prodigal spending during the holidays.

   He is a prodigal son.

2. (often followed by of or with) Yielding profusely, lavish.

   She was a merry person, glad and prodigal of smiles.

   How can he be so prodigal with money on such a tight budget?

3. Profuse, lavishly abundant.
4. (by allusion to the Biblical parable of the prodigal son) returning after abandoning a person, group, or ideal, especially for selfish reasons; behaving as a prodigal son.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:prodigal

Antonyms

• (a prodigal person): frugal
• exigent

Derived terms

• prodigal son

Translations

Noun

prodigal (plural prodigals)

1. A prodigal person, a spendthrift.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:spendthrift

Translations

Further reading

• prodigal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• prodigal in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• prodigal at OneLook Dictionary Search