Synonyms of squander

squander

verb

ˈskwän-dər 

1

as in to spend

to use up carelessly

squandered all her money gambling in casinos

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spend
• lose
• waste
• lavish
• misspend
• dissipate
• throw away
• run through
• blow
• trifle (away)
• fritter (away)
• consume
• deplete
• splurge
• expend
• fiddle away
• play ducks and drakes with
• impoverish
• indulge
• exhaust
• disburse
• overspend
• overindulge
• shoot
• lay out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• conserve
• preserve
• economize
• protect
• save
• skimp
• scrimp
• hoard
• lay up

2

as in to disperse

to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart

a single blast of the shotgun squandered the herd of deer

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disperse
• scatter
• dispel
• dissipate
• disband
• isolate
• segregate
• disseminate
• clear out
• split (up)
• diffuse
• part
• separate
• diverge
• spread
• break up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• collect
• gather
• concentrate
• assemble
• congregate
• cluster
• conglomerate
• ingather
• unite
• unify
• agglutinate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of squander

New York squandered an 8-0 lead and led 15-9 before hanging on as Miami scored twice in the eighth and three in the ninth. — ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026

The early fireworks weren’t enough as the Sox squandered the three-run lead in a 6-4 loss to the Twins in front of 27,749 at Rate Field. — Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2026

Around baseball, the Halos became an absolute punchline for squandering the prime years of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the exact same roster. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026

The Red Sox squandered another scoring chance in the sixth after leaving runners at the corners, but Bennett made sure the two-run lead held up. — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 29 Aug. 2026