prō-flīgo, āvi, ātum, 1, v. a., to strike or dash to the ground, to cast down utterly, overthrow, overcome, conquer (class.; syn.: sterno, prosterno).
I Lit.: inimicos profligare, Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 75: copias hostium, Cic. Phil. 14, 14, 37: classem hostium, Caes. B. C. 2, 32: hostes, Nep. Dat. 6, 8: proelia, i. e. the warriors , Tac. A. 14, 36: aciem virorum, Sil. 11, 400; Tac. A. 13, 4.—
II Trop.
A To overthrow , ruin , destroy : rem publicam, Cic. de Or. 3, 1, 3: tantas opes, Nep. Pelop. 2, 3: undique se suosque profligante fortunā, Liv. 33, 19: valetudinem, Gell. 19, 5, 2.—
B To overwhelm , crush in spirit: quanti illum maerore afflictum esse et profligatum putatis, Cic. Cat. 2, 1, 2.—
C To bring almost to an end , to almost finish , despatch : bellum commissum ac profligatum conficere, Liv. 21, 40, 11: profligato fere Samnitium bello, id. 9, 29, 1; 28, 2, 11: profligatum bellum ac paene sublatum, Cic. Fam. 12, 30, 2: profligata jam haec, et paene ad exitum adducta quaestio est, id. Tusc. 5, 6, 15: omnia ad perniciem profligata, id. Rosc. Am. 13, 38: sperans, ante Vitellii adventum profligari plurimum posse, that it would be brought nearly to an end , Suet. Oth. 9: profligaverat bellum Judaicum Vespasianus, Tac. H. 2, 4; Flor. 2, 15, 2; Just. 31, 7, 3; Sen. Ben. 7, 13, 2: profligatis in Africā rebus, Just. 22, 8, 1: victoriam, Front. Strat. 2, 3, 2: quantum profligatum sit, how far advanced , Just. 20, 4, 13; cf. Front. Strat. 2, 3, 20.
VI —Hence, prōflīgātus , a, um, P. a.
A Wretched , miserable , vile (class.; syn. perditus): senatoria judicia perdita profligataque, Cic. Verr. 1, 3, 8.—
B In a moral sense, corrupt , dissolute , abandoned , profligate (class.): tu omnium mortalium profligatissime ac perditissime, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 26, § 65: homines, id. Arch. 6, 14: omnia ad perniciem profligata atque perdita, id. Rosc. Am. 13, 38: profligatissimus quisque, Suet. Tib. 35.—
C Of time, advanced (post-Aug.): profligatae aetatis (homo), Sen. Ot. 2, 2 (al. Vit. Beat. 29, 2).—In neutr. absol. : in profligato esse, to be almost ended , Gell. 15, 5, 2.