What is the real meaning of the prodigal son?
Sarah Oconnor
Updated on April 21, 2026
noun. a figure in a parable of Jesus (Luke 15:11–32); a wayward son who squanders his inheritance but returns home to find that his father forgives him.
Is prodigal a bad word?
Exceedingly or recklessly wasteful. One who is given to wasteful luxury or extravagance. Prodigal is a person who left home, often under bad terms, and who then has a long-awaited and much celebrated return home. …
Was the prodigal son repentant?
Many people have been taught that the Prodigal Son’s confession of sins to his father was an act of repentance, but it wasn’t. The Greek word for repent is metanoia, which simply means “a change of mind.” The Prodigal’s confession wasn’t intended to seek forgiveness or reconciliation with his father.
What is the significance of prodigal?
Meaning of prodigal in English. spending or using large amounts of money, time, energy, etc., especially in a way that is not very wise: The prodigal landlord spends the money as fast as he receives it. There have been rumours that he has been prodigal with company funds.
What is the opposite of prodigal son?
Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms prodigal. Antonyms: frugal, saving, hoarding, economical, niggardly, miserly, close, closefisted.
Who is prodigal person?
noun. a person who is wasteful of his or her money, possessions, etc.; spendthrift: In later years, he was a prodigal of his fortune.
Is prodigal a positive word?
Thus, a person who is prodigal would be likely to spend money recklessly or to be wasteful in other areas. These usages of prodigal can often imply a sense of foolishness, inexperience, or even impending (and perhaps deserved) doom. A third, less common usage has a slightly more positive connotation.
What does the sandals represent in the prodigal son?
“Put sandals on his feet” – The prodigal returned home without shoes, a sign of having become extremely destitute because in ancient biblical times only servants and slaves went barefoot.
What happened to the prodigal son in the Bible?
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the well-known parable of the prodigal son. A son asks his father for his inheritance, then squanders it recklessly as he lives a life of indulgence. With nothing left of his fortune, he is forced to work as a hired hand for a pig farmer.
Who would be considered a prodigal?
a person who is wasteful of his or her money, possessions, etc.; spendthrift: In later years, he was a prodigal of his fortune.
What will happen if one be prodigal?
If that one be prodigal, “Bountiful” they will him call, If he be addict to vice; Quickly him they will entice.
What is the meaning of the word prodigal?
Definition of prodigal. 1 : characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure : lavish a prodigal feast prodigal outlays for her clothes 2 : recklessly spendthrift the prodigal prince 3 : yielding abundantly : luxuriant —often used with of nature has been so prodigal…
Did the prodigal child always spend her allowance the minute she got?
— Cullen Murphy, New York Times Book Review, 10 June l984 the prodigal child always spent her allowance the minute she got it Noun Such a trustee had been first instituted by the praetor, to save a family from the blind havoc of a prodigal or madman …
What did the Prodigal painter do after he left Zuccato’s studio?
— Jeremy Redmon, ajc, 20 Mar. 2021 The prodigal painter later left Zuccato’s studio to study with Giovanni Bellini, one of the most prominent Venetian artists of his time. — Isis Davis-marks, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun He is angered by his father’s instant acceptance of the prodigal ’s return.
What does George Eliot say about Prodigal habits?
For my own part, I regretted your alliance with my brother-in-law’s family, which has always been of prodigal habits, and which has already been much indebted to me for sustainment in its present position … ” — George Eliot, Middlemarch, 1872