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
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
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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Grichuk played a lot of DH last season (48 games) while also spending time in right field (40 games), left field (19 games) and center field (2 games).—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
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An already dire picture of a woman taking money meant for San Diego’s most vulnerable and spending it on everything from plastic surgeries to personal vacations grew even darker this week when prosecutors gave a public update about their ongoing investigation.—
Blake Nelson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Because of that, most of the men and women who are losing their lives on the front lines are married with children – and Ukraine is becoming a country of widows and orphans.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
22 Feb. 2026
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Without losing its boutique intimacy, the Junior Suites and Miramar Suites offer more breathing room, many with separate living areas and kitchenettes that make longer stays feel seamless.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Misspending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/misspending. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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