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# prodigal

adjective (prodigal); noun (a prodigal, prodigals)

«prodigal» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (Bible) The prodigal son is the young man in Jesus's story who wastes his father's money, comes home sorry, and is welcomed with love. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#m1)
2. (formal) Spending money or things too freely and wastefully. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#m2)
3. (noun, humorous) Someone who comes back home after being away a long time, especially after doing wrong: «the prodigal returns». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#m3)

### In the lessons

In religion lessons the parable of the prodigal son teaches forgiveness: the father runs to hug the son who came back. In everyday speech people joke «the prodigal returns» when someone comes home late or after a long absence. Phrases: «the prodigal son», «prodigal with money».

### Examples

- Jesus told the story of the prodigal son to show God's love. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#x1)
- The prodigal son spent all his money and ended up feeding pigs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#x2)
- His father threw a party when the prodigal came home. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#x3)
- «Look, the prodigal returns!» said Gran when my cousin finally visited. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#x4)
- The king was prodigal with gold and soon the treasury was empty. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#x5)
- Our teacher asked who we felt sorry for in the story of the prodigal son. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#x6)
- The older brother was angry about the feast for the prodigal. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/#x7)

### Note

Many people think «prodigal» means «coming back home», but its real meaning is «wasteful»; the son is called prodigal because he wasted money. Not usually used for people today except in the phrase. Noun prodigality (formal).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «prodigal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prodigal/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«prodigal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/prodigal.html) on Mova free.