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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in wastefulness
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in spending
to use up carelessly
squandered all her money gambling in casinos
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
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
Those turnovers ended up squandering a Los Angeles offense that had four touchdowns drives on the road.
—Charlotte Observer, 30 Nov. 2025
That, and squandering timeouts, remains an issue.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Nov. 2025
After a handful of moderate senators cut a deal with Republicans to reopen the government, Democrats from every corner ripped the group and accused them of squandering the party's leverage.
—Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Noun
Kiké Hernández followed with a flyout to complete the squandering.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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
Those turnovers ended up squandering a Los Angeles offense that had four touchdowns drives on the road.
—Charlotte Observer, 30 Nov. 2025
That, and squandering timeouts, remains an issue.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Nov. 2025
After a handful of moderate senators cut a deal with Republicans to reopen the government, Democrats from every corner ripped the group and accused them of squandering the party's leverage.
—Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squandering
Adjective
-
Further, this will help address the root causes of unnecessary physical sampling and overdevelopment, both chronically wasteful and persistent issues.—
Raj Dhiman,
Sourcing Journal,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Is its packaging consciously designed or needlessly wasteful?—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
She’s also previously called out wastefulness in the music industry specifically.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
30 Oct. 2025
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However, Bompastor’s side did little at first to shake worries about their wastefulness in front of goal.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Instead of spending scarce early capital on headcount or agencies, founders can test more ideas, move faster and lower the cost of getting started.—
Alison Coleman,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
People are spending more time in the gym; zeroing in on wellness and longevity; and even planning their holidays around fitness and wellness offerings.—
Madeleine Schulz,
Vogue,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
After marching through downtown, the protesters returned to General Worth Square before dispersing.—
Emily Holshouser,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Jan. 2026
-
That’s inevitable for any night that has Ozomatli performing in the first half-hour and dispersing through the aisles — right on the heels of the aforementioned kids’ choir performance.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The State of Illinois and City of Chicago’s finances have been in a continuous downward spiral because of their unbalanced budgets, spending, profligacy, and inability — especially from Chicago — to deal with the staggering unfunded pension liabilities.—
Joe Sanders,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Jan. 2026
-
Gold’s record highs are primarily a function of a lack of faith in governments to restrain their fiscal profligacy.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
8 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Wynn ended up getting an open look at the basket on a 3-point attempt from the wing, but the shot bounced off the rim with two seconds left and the Tritons (13-6, 8-1) celebrated the victory after losing their first conference game on Thursday night against visiting UC Davis.—
Dan Arritt,
Oc Register,
25 Jan. 2026
-
The subscription economy is still growing, but the mechanics that once powered that growth are losing effectiveness.—
Kolawole Samuel Adebayo,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Noun
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These were both indicators of greater hardness and higher energy dissipation in the copper.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
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Notably, like the Navier-Stokes equations (and unlike the other two kinds of equations the researchers studied), the CCF equations describe fluids that have a dissipation property akin to viscosity.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The morning favors slow starts, nudging us to notice needs early and respond without wasting time.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Jan. 2026
-
When monitoring is ignored, and problems go uncorrected, large federal programs can operate for years without adequate safeguards, wasting taxpayer dollars.—
Sheila Weinberg,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squandering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squandering. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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