as in spent
to use up carelessly
warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspent
Verb
-
The complaint says Heifler spent weeks discussing the plot with the undercover law enforcement official, and at one point went to scope out Kiswani's home.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026 -
Aaron spent long hours at his computer answering queries, fixing bugs, and releasing updates to serve his growing base.—
Oriana van Praag,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Elders living alone who can no longer cook or clean, who stopped paying their bills or answering the door, who aren’t taking their meds or bathing themselves, who are lost or don’t remember to turn off a stove might get a visit from an adult protective investigator.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
In 2025, the Lions lost a lot of high scoring games, but with Monroe’s consistent pitching success, the team is more well-rounded with an ability to win close, low scoring bouts.—
Charles Baggarly
April 2,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Heat nearly wasted a 15-point second-half lead, but held on in a contest that included 14 lead changes to improve to 2-7 over its last nine games.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
-
At locations with little or no planning for floods, contaminants could be released into surrounding communities and taxpayer dollars already invested in remediation could be wasted, the review found.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Misspent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspent. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
