as in wasteful
given to spending money freely or foolishly
the nightclub's ridiculous prices seem geared to squandering revelers with more money than sense
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as in wastefulness
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1
as in spending
to use up carelessly
squandered all her money gambling in casinos
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dispersing
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart
a single blast of the shotgun squandered the herd of deer
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Recent Examples of squandering
Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Kiké Hernández followed with a flyout to complete the squandering.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Steve Douglas, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
Houston looked good from the start in this one after squandering a six-point lead in the final 26 seconds of regulation in a devastating 112-108 overtime loss Friday night.
—CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
The gravity of the Game 2 loss, squandering homecourt advantage, is finally clobbering them over the head.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026
In 2005 his team failed to add a second Champions League title after squandering a 3–0 lead versus Liverpool FC to lose on penalties in one of the most dramatic finals in the competition’s history.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
Jason Dickinson also scored twice for the Oilers, who trailed 3-2 entering the third after squandering a 2-0 lead.
—ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026
The Nuggets won a thriller on Christmas in Denver, squandering a lead late in the fourth quarter, courtesy of an Edwards triple at the end of regulation, only to then rally themselves to steal the game in overtime.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 17 Apr. 2026
The administration of Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier is following in the footsteps of its predecessor by squandering taxpayers’ money to conceal information from the public that the public has the absolute right to know.
—David Plymyer, Baltimore Sun, 26 Mar. 2026
House Republicans tore into Democrats on Wednesday evening over what several GOP members described as squandering an opportunity to question Attorney General Pam Bondi about her handling of the Epstein files.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 19 Mar. 2026
Noun
This is the sort of managerial aimlessness the Post is being governed by, just one example of the missteps and squandering of opportunity framed as strategy.
—Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Kiké Hernández followed with a flyout to complete the squandering.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
Middlesbrough hit back immediately with a 43rd-minute equalizer but Wrexham finished the stronger, squandering a string of great late chances for a winner that would have secured a playoff place on goal difference.
—Steve Douglas, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
Houston looked good from the start in this one after squandering a six-point lead in the final 26 seconds of regulation in a devastating 112-108 overtime loss Friday night.
—CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
The gravity of the Game 2 loss, squandering homecourt advantage, is finally clobbering them over the head.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026
In 2005 his team failed to add a second Champions League title after squandering a 3–0 lead versus Liverpool FC to lose on penalties in one of the most dramatic finals in the competition’s history.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
Jason Dickinson also scored twice for the Oilers, who trailed 3-2 entering the third after squandering a 2-0 lead.
—ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026
The Nuggets won a thriller on Christmas in Denver, squandering a lead late in the fourth quarter, courtesy of an Edwards triple at the end of regulation, only to then rally themselves to steal the game in overtime.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 17 Apr. 2026
The administration of Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier is following in the footsteps of its predecessor by squandering taxpayers’ money to conceal information from the public that the public has the absolute right to know.
—David Plymyer, Baltimore Sun, 26 Mar. 2026
House Republicans tore into Democrats on Wednesday evening over what several GOP members described as squandering an opportunity to question Attorney General Pam Bondi about her handling of the Epstein files.
—Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 19 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squandering
Adjective
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Is its packaging consciously designed or needlessly wasteful?—
Sarah Felbin,
Allure,
30 Apr. 2026
-
That is, defining success and failure criteria early, testing assumptions quickly and containing any downside before commitment becomes wasteful.—
Kumar Rakesh Ranjan,
The Conversation,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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McGinn wants passes crisp fired into him and, with Villa’s best passer, Youri Tielemans, coming back to full fitness, the previous wastefulness in the final third may be remedied for good.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
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Gabriel also acknowledged lawmakers’ responsibility to oversee state spending seriously as well, and would be scrutinizing government programs for wastefulness.—
Andrew Graham,
Sacbee.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The 23-year-old, boxed out of the Yankees’ Opening Day roster despite spending the entire 2025 season in the majors, was called up from Triple-A on Monday.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
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Since making their water landing, the three Americans and one Canadian who set out on the lunar journey have been busy, spending recent weeks reuniting with family, debriefing the mission and making media appearances – all while adapting to life back on Earth.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Experts and congressional aides have said that Iran was likely able to preserve some of its arsenal by deploying decoys and dispersing weapons around the country.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
1 May 2026
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Johnson mentioned the possibility of Mexican wolves dispersing into Texas from the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area, which covers portions of Arizona and New Mexico south of Interstate 40.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Such profligacy slows real income growth, deters hiring, discourages innovation and drives up interest rates.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
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Such profligacy slows real income growth, deters hiring, discourages innovation and drives up interest rates.—
Bloomberg Opinion,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Stay calm and adjust without losing your place.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2026
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The Dodgers extended their losing streak to four games with a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
3 May 2026
Noun
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Brembo says the discs have been designed for rapid heat dissipation, while the mineral oil's viscosity remains stable across a wide range of temperatures.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
1 May 2026
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To come up with its data, Turbli analyzed eddy dissipation rates, which categorizes turbulence scores into light, moderate, moderate/severe, severe, and extreme.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The city is wasting an enormous amount of city funds by trying to maintain the Housing First program, which involves nearly $1 million per unit of housing and a lifetime of dependency by the homeless individual.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
4 May 2026
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With the cost of living rising, leaders should create relief instead of collecting money, then wasting it through their vast bureaucracy.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squandering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squandering. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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