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
Members of a celebrated Florida State Guard unit have taken to social media to allege the organization’s director used state planes to practice flying and misspent millions of dollars.
—
Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Visit our website Between 2016 and 2020, Mississippi organizations that received TANF funding to conduct things like workforce development and teen pregnancy prevention misspent or stole at least $77 million.
—Bryce Covert, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2026
An audit report released in October found that a manager with Austin Water misspent $78,000 to pay contractors for unauthorized services.
—Chaya Tong, Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
There are literally a million better ways to stop food waste than partnering with a family that has been convicted of felonies for misspending nonprofit money.
—Emily Barnes, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Visit our website Between 2016 and 2020, Mississippi organizations that received TANF funding to conduct things like workforce development and teen pregnancy prevention misspent or stole at least $77 million.
—Bryce Covert, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2026
An audit report released in October found that a manager with Austin Water misspent $78,000 to pay contractors for unauthorized services.
—Chaya Tong, Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
There are literally a million better ways to stop food waste than partnering with a family that has been convicted of felonies for misspending nonprofit money.
—Emily Barnes, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for misspend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspend
Verb
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The neighborhood It’d be easy to spend a week around Nay Palad’s beachfront area, alternating between dips in the pool, reading books in a hammock, and tours around the gin-clear water in a see-through kayak—but on-the-up Siargao is well worth exploring.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
18 May 2026
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What this narrative neglects are all the ways treatment might cause terrible side effects, or the long period one spends being sick, and how one’s identity may have changed in the interim.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
Verb
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But unlike adults, once a baby has lost this capacity, simply listening to music featuring that pattern over the course of a week or two is enough to bring it back.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
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Russia, which faces hefty international sanctions, has lost vital markets for its oil and gas exports, most notably in Europe, and has become increasingly reliant on India and China as buyers of its energy exports.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misspend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspend. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
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