different between profligate vs sleazy

English

Etymology

From Latin pr?fl?g?tus (“wretched, abandoned”), participle of pr?fl?g? (“strike down, cast down”), from pro (“forward”) + fligere (“to strike, dash”).

Pronunciation

• (adjective, noun, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p??fl???t/
• (adjective, noun, US) enPR: pr??fl?g?t, IPA^(key): /?p???fl???t/
• (adjective, noun)
• (verb, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p??fl??e?t/
• (verb, US) enPR: pr??fl?g?t, IPA^(key): /?p???fl??e?t/
• (verb)

Adjective

profligate (comparative more profligate, superlative most profligate)

1. Inclined to waste resources or behave extravagantly.

   Synonyms: extravagant, wasteful, prodigal; see also Thesaurus:prodigal

   • 2013, Ben Smith, "[1]", BBC Sport, 19 October 2013:

     Jay Rodriguez headed over and Dani Osvaldo might have done better with only David De Gea to beat and, as Southampton bordered on the profligate, United were far more ruthless.
2. Immoral; abandoned to vice.

   Synonyms: immoral, licentious

   • 1685, John Dryden, To The Pious Memory of the Accomplish'd Young Lady Mrs. Anne Killigrew

     Made prostitute and profligate the muse.
3. (obsolete) Overthrown, ruined.

Derived terms

• profligateness

Translations

Noun

profligate (plural profligates)

1. An abandoned person; one openly and shamelessly vicious; a dissolute person.
2. An overly wasteful or extravagant individual.

   Synonyms: wastrel; see also Thesaurus:spendthrift, Thesaurus:prodigal

Translations

Verb

profligate (third-person singular simple present profligates, present participle profligating, simple past and past participle profligated)

1. (obsolete) To drive away; to overcome.
   • 1840, Alexander Walker, Woman Physiologically Considered as to Mind, Morals, Marriage, Matrimonial Slavery, Infidelity and Divorce, page 157:

     Such a stipulation would remove one powerful temptation to profligate pennyless seducers, of whom there are too many prowling in the higher circles ;

Related terms

• profligacy
• profligately
• profligateness
• profligation

Further reading

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

Latin

Adjective

pr?fl?g?te

1. vocative masculine singular of pr?fl?g?tus

English

Etymology

Origin obscure. Possibly a corruption of Silesia, through a word meaning “Silesian cloth”. Silesia used to be the most important location of Germany’s weaving industry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sli?.zi/
• Rhymes: -i?zi

Adjective

sleazy (comparative sleazier, superlative sleaziest)

1. Marked by low quality; inferior; inadequate.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:low-quality
2. Raunchy or perverted in nature; tastelessly sexual.

   Synonym: skeezy
3. Untrustworthy.

   Synonyms: unreliable, questionable, sketchy, shady, slimy
4. (dated, of fabric) Thin and flimsy.

Derived terms

• sleaze
• sleazebag
• sleaziness

Usage notes

The following example shows the first three senses in a single sentence:

Sleazy John may be interpreted as untrustworthy, perverted or both in this case.

Translations