squandered

verb

past tense of squander
1
as in spent
to use up carelessly squandered all her money gambling in casinos

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dispersed
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart a single blast of the shotgun squandered the herd of deer

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of squandered The 49ers squandered an early 14-3 lead and turned the ball over four times in a 29-20 loss to Atlanta. — Rick Maese, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026 The Longhorns also nearly squandered a 10-point lead in the final two minutes when receiver Emmett Mosley IV couldn't hang on to an onside kick and the Rebels recovered to stay alive. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026 Mouret also expresses his disappointment in Meghan Markle and Prince Harry who, in his eyes, squandered the opportunity handed to them. — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026 The Celtics squandered a 22-point advantage, largely undone by a sickening 23-0 Detroit run in the fourth quarter led by Robinson and Cade Cunningham. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026 The advantage was almost squandered when Vandegrift recovered a fumble by punt returner Jacovi Sims at the Cedar Park 18. — Shaun Chornobroff, Austin American Statesman, 17 Oct. 2026 The Falcons held a 23-15 lead with less than one minute to go, squandered it, then fell 30-23 in overtime to the Ravens (4-1) on Sunday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 12 Oct. 2026 The Dodgers squandered home-field advantage and a chance to take control of the National League Division Series, losing 3-2 to the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium and evening the series. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 Last season yielded a different kind, as the Astros squandered a seven-game division lead at midseason and missed the playoffs. — Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 27 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squandered
  1. spent
  2. dispersed
  3. lost
  4. wasted
Verb
  • The network known as Fairshake spent $40 million in 2024 to unseat Brown, then the Senate Banking Committee chair; after Brown lost, crypto antagonist-in-chief Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts replaced him as the panel’s top Democrat.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 28 Oct. 2026
  • His campaign has a budget of about $30,000 and has spent $7,000 on advertising, running a spot on streaming services in four Texas counties where Libertarians have fared better in recent elections.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of spent
Verb
  • As a whole, dispersed across the World Wide Web, its river and tributaries, the words and images and videos form a new corpus of word and art.
    — Sam Kestenbaum, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Since 2021, New York has dispersed $70 million in down payment assistance.
    — Audrey McGlinchy, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of dispersed
Verb
  • Germany lost its status in science in the 1930s when many leading physicists fled from fascism.
    — Mattanjah de Vries, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Between 2023 and 2026, Florida has lost 80,000 students, returning to 2016 enrollment levels.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of lost
Verb
  • Amid that scrutiny, Hughes worked feverishly to demonstrate that his plane was viable and that the government’s money had not been wasted.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The 49ers wasted the excellent field position and opportunity to mount a go-ahead drive when Purdy threw his second interception that led to Nick Folk's 31-yard field goal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of wasted

Browse Nearby Words

squander
squandered
squanderer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Squandered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squandered. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of wraith

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All