Extravagance: Definition, Usage & Examples

Meaning 1：excessive spending (extravagance)

extravagance 🔊

/ɪkˈstrævəɡəns/

Spending too much money on things you don't really need, or spending more than you can afford.

Extravagance illustrated by a person hesitating outside a luxury boutique, contrasting desire with a modest wallet.

excessive spending 🔊

➕

/ɪkˈsesɪv ˈspendɪŋ/

The act or practice of spending money or using resources in a wasteful, lavish, or unnecessary manner, often beyond one's reasonable means.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'extra-' (outside/beyond) + 'vagari' (to wander).

💡 Mnemonic

Think: 'extra' (more than needed) + 'vagance' (sounds like 'vagrant' but with money). A vagrant wanders; extravagant spending is money wandering beyond limits.

📖 Example

Buying a sports car when you already have a reliable one is seen by many as an extravagance. 🔊 Buying a sports car when you already have a reliable one is seen by many as an extravagance.

🔗 Collocations

sheer extravagance – complete and obvious wastefulness

an act of extravagance – a single instance of wasteful spending

luxury and extravagance – expensive comfort and excessive spending, often linked

🔄 Synonyms

profligacy (n.) – reckless extravagance or wastefulness

prodigality (n.) – extravagant wastefulness, often with resources

lavishness (n.) – the quality of being very generous or extravagant

🚫 Antonyms

frugality (n.) – the quality of being economical with resources

thrift (n.) – careful management of money and resources

parsimony (n.) – extreme unwillingness to spend money

🌱 Derivatives

extravagant (adj.) – lacking restraint in spending money or using resources

extravagantly (adv.) – in a lavish or wasteful manner

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from Latin 'extravagantia', meaning 'a wandering outside or beyond'. Originally described behavior or speech that strayed from the norm. It later evolved in English to specifically denote lavish, wasteful spending that goes beyond sensible limits, reflecting societal focus on economic behavior.