1
as in wastefulness
an instance of spending money or resources without care or restraint
it seems like a waste to spend my entire paycheck on a bigger TV
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in garbage
discarded or useless material
gathered up the waste when he was finished sewing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in desert
land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops
an area that was a barren waste after the strip-mining had ended
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in dung
solid matter discharged from an animal's alimentary canal
a local ordinance requiring dog owners to properly dispose of their pet's waste
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in expansion
a wide space or area
a legendary mariner doomed to sail the watery wastes of the world until Judgment Day
Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in erosion
a gradual weakening, loss, or destruction
the slow waste of the once broad beach by the relentless tide
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to spend
to use up carelessly
he wasted his lottery winnings on booze-soaked nights with gold diggers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to ruin
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
one country attempting to waste another
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to weaken
to diminish the physical strength of
endless months of inactivity wasted him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
waste acreage that was not fit for anything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of waste
Emily Johnson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Desalinating that water, however, would produce tons of brine, or super-salty sludge, as waste.
—Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
There’s no big announcement or time wasted reinventing the wheel.
—Bronwen Sciortino, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Feb. 2021
To boost that percentage, France passed an anti-waste bill last year mandating that electronics manufacturers make a repairability index visible on their products.
—Maddie Stone, Wired, 20 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for waste
Noun
These bits can be hard to clean off, but also, simply cleaning them would be a massive waste of flavor.
—Emily Johnson, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Desalinating that water, however, would produce tons of brine, or super-salty sludge, as waste.
—Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
Skip to content At 38 weeks pregnant with her second child, Hannah Robb has no time to waste on red tape.
—Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
There’s no big announcement or time wasted reinventing the wheel.
—Bronwen Sciortino, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
The new anti-waste law aims to encourage buyers to repair their devices rather than replace them with new products.
—Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Feb. 2021
To boost that percentage, France passed an anti-waste bill last year mandating that electronics manufacturers make a repairability index visible on their products.
—Maddie Stone, Wired, 20 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for waste
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waste
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
Noun
-
Start With Clean, Reliable Data Garbage in, garbage out.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
By the end, Flacco was removed from the game and rookie Dillon Gabriel led a garbage-time touchdown drive capped by an 8-yard scoring pass to Dylan Sampson.—
Zac Jackson,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
He’s thrilled to accept an invitation to spend a week doing some heavy-duty training with his idol, star quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), at White’s remote desert compound.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
19 Sep. 2025
-
But very few places have two, none have two in the desert, and none are attached to a cool, upscale casinos resort like this one, with lots of dining and entrainment on site, in the middle of the city.—
Larry Olmsted,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
And like the wildebeest, bison dung packs a nutritional punch when deposited across the landscape.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Decades before Colorado’s best singers, dancers and actors graced the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in downtown Denver, workers pushed brooms across the stage to clean up elephant dung, rodeo sawdust, and blood spatters from boxing matches.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Biglari’s core demands were to stop opening new stores entirely, eliminate the development team to save money, and focus exclusively on improving existing store operations rather than expansion.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
18 Sep. 2025
-
The expansion team has lost each of its last five games against the Lynx, and most recently suffered one of their worst losses of the season in Game 1 on Sunday in a 29-point defeat.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The rise is coupled with major political shifts in the country following the election of President Bernardo Arévalo, who vowed to fight corruption, tackle inequality, and rectify the discrimination against Indigenous Peoples after years of democratic erosion and corruption.—
Simmone Shah,
Time,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The effect was enhanced by the erosion caused by a century of pollution on the sandstone, which was originally obtained from Montjuïc.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Bobenmoyer spent seven years as a dental assistant.—
Anna Clark,
ProPublica,
18 Sep. 2025
-
In Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and Austin, renters typically spent less than 20 percent of their median income on rent.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Some hardware is brass-plated, which means scrubbing could expose the metal underneath and ruin the finish.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
16 Sep. 2025
-
However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Simone Jasper,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Waste.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waste. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share