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Glite Dictionary
thriftless

thriftless

1 8.5
Spends money or other resources in a careless way
  • adjective
  • /ˈθrɪftləs/
translation icon : despilfarrador
  • The company's thriftless decisions led to financial problems and layoffs.

Examples

  • He lost most of his savings because of his thriftless spending habits.

  • Working 12 hours a day, going hungry, alone and afraid because your father, who is supposed to care for you, is so utterly thriftless!

    The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

  • Nothing can pry them away from that; the city is what they want it to be: thriftless, warm, scary, and full of amiable strangers.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • They proposed "steady, well-supervised work" in order to reverse the former slaves' tendency "to be idle and thriftless."

    Academic text (2004)

  • Her thriftless lifestyle caused her to struggle to pay her bills each month.

Synonyms

spendy
vsthriftless
  • UK
1 8.2

A person who likes to buy expensive things

is about carelessness with resources rather than a liking for expensive purchases
unthrifty
vsthriftless
8.6

Not careful with money, spending more than needed

is more about lacking economy in general rather than single wasteful acts
unfrugal
vsthriftless
9.0

Spending money or using things in a wasteful way

is broader, meaning general carelessness with money or lack of thrift

Antonyms

thrifty
10 4.4

Being careful with money and things to avoid wasting them

How Thrifty

parsimonious
2 9.9
thrifty
10 4.4
frugal
31 4.9
economical
23 3.8
thriftless
1 8.5
wasteful
48 3.0

Surface Forms

thriftless positive
thriftlesser comparative
thriftlessest superlative

Morphology

thriftless = thrift (transparent) = thrift + less

The meaning is directly derived from the noun 'thrift' plus the productive suffix '-less' meaning 'without', so learners who know 'thrift' and '-less' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The word thriftless comes from thrift + -less, where thrift once meant 'prosperity' and is related to thrive ('to grow or do well'), and -less means 'without'. So thriftless means 'without careful saving' or 'careless with money or resources'.