different between munificent vs prodigal

English

Etymology

Back-formation from munificence, from Latin m?nificentia.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /mju?n?f?sn?t/

Adjective

munificent (comparative more munificent, superlative most munificent)

1. (of a person or group) Very liberal in giving or bestowing.
   • 1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, ch. 30:

     Tellson's Bank . . . was a munificent house, and extended great liberality to old customers who had fallen from their high estate.

   • 1974 April 8, "Politics: Milkmen Skimming Off More Cream," Time (retrieved 5 Sept 2013):

     [M]ilk producers are among the most munificent backers of political campaigns in the U.S.

   • 2008 March 20, Martin Filler, "Broad-Minded Museum," New York Review of Books (retrieved 5 Sept 2013):

     An exceptionally munificent benefactor of several institutions, he has given $100 million each to MIT and Harvard.

2. (of a gift, donation, etc.) Very generous; lavish.
   • 1886, Louisa May Alcott, Jo's Boys, ch. 1:

     On the hill, where kites used to be flown, stood the fine college which Mr Laurence's munificent legacy had built.

   • 1914, William MacLeod Raine, A Daughter of the Dons, ch. 25:

     It was all very well for this casual youth to make her a present of a half million acres of land in this debonair way, but she could not persuade herself to accept so munificent a gift.

   • 1969 April 11, "Business: Up, Up and Away with Wages," Time (retrieved 5 Sept 2013):

     The machinists finally agreed to a munificent increase averaging 5.7% a year for three years.

Synonyms

• bounteous, generous, liberal

Derived terms

• munificently

Related terms

Translations

Dutch

Etymology

From Latin munificus, munificens (“liberal”), from munus (“gift”) + facio (“I make”).

Adjective

munificent (comparative munificenter, superlative munificentst)

1. generous

Inflection

Synonyms

• (generous): genereus, gul, goedgeefs, vrijgevig, royaal

Romanian

Etymology

From French munificent

Adjective

munificent m or n (feminine singular munificent?, masculine plural munificen?i, feminine and neuter plural munificente)

1. munificent

Declension

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