frittering

adjective

as in wasting

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for frittering
  1. profligate
  2. wasteful
  3. spendthrift
  4. prodigal
Adjective
  • The combination of slow growth, high inflation, profligate spending, and soaring debt has stirred a revolt in financial markets.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Chicagoans expect Pritzker to defend us from profligate mayoral borrowing and spending, not add to it.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of profligate
Adjective
  • As costs kept climbing, many health economists were reluctant to probe the wasteful spending that accompanied the consolidation frenzy.
    — Dana P. Goldman, STAT, 22 Oct. 2026
  • President Bola Tinubu, who is seeking a second term in January, has repeatedly defended his decision to scrap a years-long subsidy program in 2023 to avoid wasteful spending and invest in infrastructure development.
    — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of wasteful
Adjective
  • In many states, including Maryland, debtors may exempt substantial assets from bankruptcy, including retirement accounts, spendthrift trusts and substantial equity in real estate (unlimited in Texas).
    — George Liebmann, Baltimore Sun, 11 Apr. 2026
  • The bottom line was that the Trust was not a spendthrift trust under Illinois law.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2026
Definition of spendthrift
Adjective
  • Charles’s prodigal son is said to be working on a documentary about his mother pegged to the 30th anniversary of her death, and reportedly hopes to secure Spencer’s participation.
    — Ashley Baker, Air Mail, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Bonny orchestrates a one-car parade for Cooper that’s half return of the prodigal, half humiliation ritual.
    — Ryan Chapman, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of prodigal
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.

Browse Nearby Words

fritterers
frittering
frittering (away)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Frittering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/frittering. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All