Extravagant

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ɪkˈstɹævəɡənt/

Definitions

1. Characterized by excessive spending, lavishness, or going far beyond what is reasonable or necessary
2. Showing a tendency to spend or use resources in an impractical or wasteful way ; going beyond what is considered moderate or sensible in amount or degree
3. Marked by overly abundant or lavish expenditure, often without careful consideration ; surpassing usual or appropriate boundaries in actions or behavior

Etymology: The original sense of "extravagant" had nothing to do with money. It came from Medieval Latin "extravagans," the present participle of "extravagari," meaning "to wander beyond," built from Latin "extra" ("beyond") and "vagari" ("to wander, stray"). Its earliest English uses described something literally straying off course, or ideas and opinions that drifted beyond accepted limits, before the sense of excess took hold. The word reached English through Middle French "extravagant," and in Middle English it appeared as "extravagaunt." The shift from wandering to wasting is a sideways step: going beyond bounds in behaviour could mean going beyond what one could afford, so overspending became one of the ways a person could be called extravagant.

Synonyms: lavish, immoderate, excessive, profligate, wasteful

Antonyms: frugal, moderate, sparing, conservative