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
Julian, the character that Ian McKellen plays, was a major painter who squandered his talent after becoming a reality show judge.
—
Brent Lang, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
One night after his team squandered three separate leads in an overtime defeat at Utah, McDavid delivered the kind of performance Edmonton needed.
—ABC News, 9 Apr. 2026
The Padres squandered Gavin Sheets’ leadoff double in the second inning.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
The Giants squandered a fantastic seven-inning start by Logan Webb.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
Los Angeles couldn't get a runner into scoring position, while Seattle squandered back-to-back hits with one out in the fourth.
—CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026
The club nearly squandered the opportunity again when Story struck out and Andruw Monasterio, who pinch hit for Jarren Duran to set up a righty-on-lefty matchup, grounded one back to the mound for what should have been an inning-ending 1-4-3 double play.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 4 Apr. 2026
The Royals also squandered chances in the fourth and sixth innings.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2026
Illinois squandered a nine-point second-half lead and lost in overtime to end a 12-game winning streak.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
Brent Lang, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
One night after his team squandered three separate leads in an overtime defeat at Utah, McDavid delivered the kind of performance Edmonton needed.
—ABC News, 9 Apr. 2026
The Padres squandered Gavin Sheets’ leadoff double in the second inning.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
The Giants squandered a fantastic seven-inning start by Logan Webb.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
Los Angeles couldn't get a runner into scoring position, while Seattle squandered back-to-back hits with one out in the fourth.
—CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026
The club nearly squandered the opportunity again when Story struck out and Andruw Monasterio, who pinch hit for Jarren Duran to set up a righty-on-lefty matchup, grounded one back to the mound for what should have been an inning-ending 1-4-3 double play.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 4 Apr. 2026
The Royals also squandered chances in the fourth and sixth innings.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2026
Illinois squandered a nine-point second-half lead and lost in overtime to end a 12-game winning streak.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squandered
Verb
-
Crews have spent the last year fixing more than 700 broken streetlights.—
Adam Duxter,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The 31-year-old right-hander, who spent his first eight MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, signed a minor league contract with San Diego in February.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Unlike oil, which flows through pipelines and centralized infrastructure, gold production in southern Venezuela is dispersed across hundreds of small sites accessible only by river, dirt tracks or airstrips.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Additional works from the collection will be dispersed across a day sale and an online auction, all sourced from Goodman’s family and excluding artists currently represented by the gallery.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Some athletes are better at moving on to their next phase, while countless others are lost when their bodies can no longer do the activity that gave him their identity, and their purpose.—
Mac Engel
April 9,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The Timberwolves, who have lost five of seven, played without Anthony Edwards (right knee injury) and four players who started Tuesday night's win at Indiana that clinched their Western Conference playoff spot.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Add in the millions upon millions in wasted and unaccounted-for tax dollars exposed by devastating legislative audits.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
9 Apr. 2026
-
But without putting more effort — and money — into stabilizing rural health care systems now, that long-term investment could be wasted.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Twin Cities,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squandered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squandered. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
