as in wasteful
given to spending money freely or foolishly
the nightclub's ridiculous prices seem geared to squandering revelers with more money than sense
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in spending
to use up carelessly
squandered all her money gambling in casinos
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dispersing
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart
a single blast of the shotgun squandered the herd of deer
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in wastefulness
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Recent Examples of squandering
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Failing to do so risks squandering a major strategic opportunity and could encourage India to adopt a path less aligned with, or even hostile to, American strategic and economic interests.
—Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2025
If the effort once again stalls, reform advocates say, Congress risks squandering what may be its best chance in a decade to act.
—Nik Popli, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
Miami was unable to find the back of the net, squandering two easy scoring chances and giving up goals to Osaze De Rosario, Alex Roldan and Paul Rothrock, all players who had come up through the Tacoma Defiance, Seattle’s second team.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 1 Sep. 2025
Against Baltimore, the Red Sox wasted a slew of chances, leaving the bases loaded in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings, squandering crucial opportunities to score.
—Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Donald Maston, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, said canceling the program now would have the opposite effect, squandering millions of dollars.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2025
But the agency refused to take action, squandering FDA's opportunity to lead.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
But behind this surface efficiency is horror — tethering hundreds of thousands of people to dialysis, doling out $10,000 for unregulated procedures that leave thousands of people without a leg, and squandering billions on marginally therapeutic drugs.
—Chris Norwood, New York Daily News, 8 Dec. 2024
Adjective
Kiké Hernández followed with a flyout to complete the squandering.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
The Red Sox got a run back on Masataka Yoshida’s RBI single in the third, but the club later stranded men at the corners in both the fourth and sixth, squandering what turned out to be the club’s last scoring opportunities.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Failing to do so risks squandering a major strategic opportunity and could encourage India to adopt a path less aligned with, or even hostile to, American strategic and economic interests.
—Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2025
If the effort once again stalls, reform advocates say, Congress risks squandering what may be its best chance in a decade to act.
—Nik Popli, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
Miami was unable to find the back of the net, squandering two easy scoring chances and giving up goals to Osaze De Rosario, Alex Roldan and Paul Rothrock, all players who had come up through the Tacoma Defiance, Seattle’s second team.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 1 Sep. 2025
Against Baltimore, the Red Sox wasted a slew of chances, leaving the bases loaded in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings, squandering crucial opportunities to score.
—Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Donald Maston, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, said canceling the program now would have the opposite effect, squandering millions of dollars.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2025
But the agency refused to take action, squandering FDA's opportunity to lead.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
But behind this surface efficiency is horror — tethering hundreds of thousands of people to dialysis, doling out $10,000 for unregulated procedures that leave thousands of people without a leg, and squandering billions on marginally therapeutic drugs.
—Chris Norwood, New York Daily News, 8 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squandering
Adjective
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Overall, this wasn’t a terrible episode, but having our heroes start in the UK and then end up in Spain in the first episode felt rushed and wasteful.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Is the packaging consciously designed or needlessly wasteful?—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
After spending the first nine years of his career with the Washington Capitals, Johansson was traded to the New Jersey Devils in the summer of 2017, just before the Caps broke through with their Cup win.—
Carol Schram,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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Simon-Kucher also has a new holiday shopping report, which surveyed consumers in July, and is forecasting Gen Z shoppers to reduce their holiday shopping budget by only 1%, from $814 to $805, while Millennials will be spending 14% more year over year.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Whether the Supreme Court fires this blast or not, Republicans need to be aware that breaking up majority-minority districts, and dispersing those voters into neighboring districts to dilute their voting power, may well make those neighboring districts less safe for Republican incumbents.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Several local agencies from neighboring towns were called in to assist in dispersing the unruly crowd, and no injuries were reported among the officers.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Núñez, despite his occasional wastefulness in front of goal, was a very useful option in the position and brought great energy and dynamism to the team.—
James Nalton,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
-
Arsenal’s wastefulness on the break was evident nine minutes into the game.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
To avoid wasting time and money, leaders need a simple rule.—
Rishit Lakhani,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
But slow oxygen chemistry has remained a stubborn bottleneck, wasting energy and shortening battery life.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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More political turmoil in the world fourth-largest economy could rattle the bond market as investors gauge whether the next leader will lean toward fiscal discipline or more profligacy.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Bitcoin and the rest of crypto are on the rise to supposedly save us us from the financial profligacy of untrustworthy governments.—
Kelly Evans,
CNBC,
15 July 2025
Verb
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The 74-year-old François Bayrou resigns on Tuesday after choosing to gamble his political survival on a confidence vote a day earlier—and losing it by a huge margin.—
Cole Stangler,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Since then, Cracker Barrel has become a cookie-cutter corporate chain, steadily losing its Southern flavor.—
Bud Kennedy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Using cutting-edge metals for enhanced stiffness and heat dissipation, this most recent version represents a significant generational change.—
Matt Emma,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
-
There are built-in cooling fans as well as heat dissipation vents to keep everything cool to ensure stable performance even during long and intensive work sessions.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Squandering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squandering. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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