Choose the appropriate option which is the opposite of the following word:
Profligate
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Frugal
- Profligate means wasteful and extravagant, spending money or resources recklessly.
Example: His profligate spending left the family with nothing. - Frugal means careful and economical in spending, avoiding waste. Careful saving is the opposite of reckless spending, so frugal is the antonym of profligate.
Example: By living a frugal life, she saved enough to buy a house.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Prodigal — Incorrect. Prodigal means wastefully extravagant; it is a synonym of profligate, not its opposite.
Example: The prodigal son spent his whole inheritance within a year.
Option 3: Improvident — Incorrect. Improvident means not providing for the future, careless with money; it is also close in meaning to profligate.
Example: Improvident habits soon led him into debt.
Option 4: Effective — Incorrect. Effective means producing the result that is wanted; it has no connection with spending or saving.
Example: The new medicine is effective against fever.
The following words have also been asked in other CUET (UG) English papers:
| Word | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| profligate | 14-05 S1 31-05 S2 | 21-05 S2 31-05 S1 | – | – | – |
| prodigal | 12-05 S2 14-05 S1 | 21-05 S2 24-05 S1 29-05 S1 | – | – | – |
| frugal | 22-05 S2 30-05 S1 06-06 S1 | 24-05 S1 29-05 S1 02-06 S2 | – | 22-05 S2 07-06 S1 | – |