as in to spend
to use up carelessly
warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed
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Recent Examples of misspend
Vatican officials are hoping that under Leo’s pontificate, with new financial controls in place and an American math major running the Holy See, donors will be reassured that their money won’t be misspent or mismanaged.
—
Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2025
The sheriff's energy, time and resources here are misspent.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 29 May 2025
Every Floridian must be made aware of the blatant corruption and misspending public money in Tallahassee.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 May 2025
While Argentina has received massive IMF loans in the past, previous governments had misspent most of the funds on subsidies to win elections.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2025
The sheriff's energy, time and resources here are misspent.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 29 May 2025
Every Floridian must be made aware of the blatant corruption and misspending public money in Tallahassee.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 May 2025
While Argentina has received massive IMF loans in the past, previous governments had misspent most of the funds on subsidies to win elections.
—Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspend
Verb
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Han says the funds raised through the Hong Kong listing will help the robotaxi firm continue to spend on R&D and deployment.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
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Carter tells Rolling Stone the band approached him about joining the upcoming lineup in late September and have spent the time since working through booking and logistics.—
Josh Crutchmer,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Tamra’s hanging in Big Bear, Jenn is planning a wedding, and Heather lost $6 million on a house.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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Others have turned toward the distant past to understand what has been lost and assess what can be recovered.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Misspend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspend. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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