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

The veteran didn’t squander the opportunity, and Belgium kept their World Cup alive. — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026

Bruno Guimarães took the opportunity, instead, and squandered it with a stutter step that Norwegian keeper Ørjan Nyland didn’t fall for. — Doha Madani, NBC news, 5 July 2026

The African team took the lead and had chances to extend it, but ultimately paid dearly for squandering those opportunities. — Eduard Cauich, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026

Still, Twain squandered his own fortune and Livy’s inheritance on developing Paige’s invention, even as the Mergenthaler Linotype became the industry standard, rendering Paige’s machine worthless. — Ron Chernow, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026