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
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 1 Feb. 2026
A day after squandering a three-goal lead in a 4-3 overtime loss at Washington, Aho made sure the Hurricanes didn’t blow a 2-0 lead against the Kings.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
But McCurdy’s furious writing—her dystopian rendering of a culture squandering its dreams and desires on the crack high of cheap stuff—is hard to tear yourself away from.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
In the year before Spagnuolo arrived in Kansas City, the Chiefs defense ranked 24th in points allowed, squandering an MVP year from Patrick Mahomes.
—Jeff Fedotin, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Indeed, squandering fourth-quarter advantages become a troubling trend for the Ravens in Harbaugh’s last few seasons, and after a hamstring injury sidelined Jackson, Baltimore stumbled to a 1-5 start in 2025.
—Noah Trister, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026
Indeed, squandering significant advantages became a troubling trend in Harbaugh’s last few seasons.
—Noah Trister, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But the future really is more about what’s around Mahomes to avoid squandering any more of his transformative talent.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Dec. 2025
Similarly, the administration's approach to Turkey and Saudi Arabia suggests a willingness to extend trust and strategic concessions that may exceed what these relationships warrant, potentially squandering leverage on critical issues like the Abraham Accords.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025
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
Last week, the wind-power green scam artists were back in federal court, arguing to be permitted to keep squandering billions more on those insane offshore windmills that produce next to no energy, but plenty of pollution.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 1 Feb. 2026
A day after squandering a three-goal lead in a 4-3 overtime loss at Washington, Aho made sure the Hurricanes didn’t blow a 2-0 lead against the Kings.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
But McCurdy’s furious writing—her dystopian rendering of a culture squandering its dreams and desires on the crack high of cheap stuff—is hard to tear yourself away from.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
In the year before Spagnuolo arrived in Kansas City, the Chiefs defense ranked 24th in points allowed, squandering an MVP year from Patrick Mahomes.
—Jeff Fedotin, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Indeed, squandering fourth-quarter advantages become a troubling trend for the Ravens in Harbaugh’s last few seasons, and after a hamstring injury sidelined Jackson, Baltimore stumbled to a 1-5 start in 2025.
—Noah Trister, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026
Indeed, squandering significant advantages became a troubling trend in Harbaugh’s last few seasons.
—Noah Trister, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But the future really is more about what’s around Mahomes to avoid squandering any more of his transformative talent.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Dec. 2025
Similarly, the administration's approach to Turkey and Saudi Arabia suggests a willingness to extend trust and strategic concessions that may exceed what these relationships warrant, potentially squandering leverage on critical issues like the Abraham Accords.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squandering
Adjective
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The Democrats also largely take aim at how wasteful and ineffective the policy may be.—
STEPHEN GROVES,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The cost of changing to this dangerous policy will be an unnecessary, wasteful cost to Florida taxpayers.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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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
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While an eight-game winning run saw Cherki, Foden and Haaland hit their devastating best, three frustrating draws against Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion were characterised by wastefulness in front of goal.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The fiscal angst is most obvious in urban school districts, where enrollment declines are most severe and where unions are the strongest, often spending heavily to elect friendly school board members.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Pritzker’s $56 billion election-year budget plan represents one of the smallest increases in state spending the governor has proposed since the governor took office in 2019.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Videos shared online show the moments after the situation escalated, with groups of teens running and dispersing outside the building.—
Nicole Nielsen,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Fit for purpose Next-gen designs could boost those gains by dispersing battery material around drone frames, electric motors, or other surfaces.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The profligacy, for sure, with Everton contriving to surrender a 1-0 lead in the space of eight remarkable second-half minutes in which defender Jake O’Brien was also sent off.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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Raising its own bar for college sports profligacy, the University of Texas’s athletic department reported spending $375.9 million in operating expenses in fiscal 2025—a $50 million jump over its previous, record-setting year.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Sewald came to the Diamondbacks from the Seattle Mariners in a trade deadline deal in 2023 and helped the D-backs make a surprise run to the Fall Classic before losing to the Texas Rangers in five games.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
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Businesses are losing foot traffic, changing their hours or closing entirely.—
Jeff Wagner,
CBS News,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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These atomic motions define heat dissipation, chemical reactions and material properties.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
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Experts question the feasibility and timeline, citing technological challenges including radiation-resistant chips, heat dissipation and communication obstacles.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Federal overreach has failed our children, with literacy rates falling and a bloated federal budget wasting taxpayer dollars.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Feb. 2026
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Food systems will not be improved by individuals buying water-wasting organic cashews harvested by underpaid migrant workers in deadly temperatures.—
Annie Levin,
Washington Post,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squandering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squandering. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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