as in spending
to use up carelessly
warned that a childhood spent hanging around indoors was a misspent youth indeed
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Recent Examples of misspending
Glen Gilzean, who left his Orange County post accused of misspending millions in taxpayer dollars, has been tapped as the new CEO of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County.
—
Alexa Coultoff, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2026
Another is the surprising fact that no Florida law specifically prohibits public officials from misspending public funds on political advertising.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 23 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
Alexa Coultoff, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2026
Another is the surprising fact that no Florida law specifically prohibits public officials from misspending public funds on political advertising.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 23 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for misspending
Verb
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The Republican primary has been one of the most expensive in recent history, with both sides spending freely on attack ads.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
20 May 2026
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Cherry Creek’s policy prohibits employees from spending district money on alcohol.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
20 May 2026
Verb
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The rest of the production had been much harder—particularly because, to his frustration, he’d been forced to film primarily in Atlanta rather than in Oakland, after a year of maddening delays led to the production losing its California tax rebate.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
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The Wolves were wiped out by the Spurs in the second round, losing Game 6 by 30 points on Friday night.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misspending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspending. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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