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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Dissimilar Words
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
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
The sweeping breadth of the trade probes also risks alienating partners and squandering the goodwill needed to forge a collective response to address Chinese industrial overcapacity, according to experts.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 13 Mar. 2026
And yet, overall, the Premier League is squandering this tremendous edge with bad recruitment choices, building unbalanced squads or teams short of experience at huge cost.
—James Horncastle, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
In recent weeks, the Lakers had become accustomed to squandering double-digit leads or struggling to spark runs when trailing.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 4 Mar. 2026
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
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
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
The sweeping breadth of the trade probes also risks alienating partners and squandering the goodwill needed to forge a collective response to address Chinese industrial overcapacity, according to experts.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 13 Mar. 2026
And yet, overall, the Premier League is squandering this tremendous edge with bad recruitment choices, building unbalanced squads or teams short of experience at huge cost.
—James Horncastle, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
In recent weeks, the Lakers had become accustomed to squandering double-digit leads or struggling to spark runs when trailing.
—Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 4 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squandering
Adjective
-
Yet many now think of it as a wasteful ritual requiring compliance to petty rules.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Is its packaging consciously designed or needlessly wasteful?—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
More than one in three West Virginia households is considered energy burdened, spending more than 6% of their income on electricity and other fuel costs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
After photos emerged of New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel spending time with NFL reporter Dianna Russini at a luxury hotel in Arizona, Russini said the photos were taken out of context and her employer has come to her defense.—
Doha Madani,
NBC news,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Yuval Tzur, who has attended weekly protests since the war began, told CNN that police began dispersing people in HaBima Square soon after the demonstration began.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2026
-
In addition, unlike some carbon removal strategies that rely on transporting and dispersing large quantities of crushed rock, this method operates entirely on-site.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Such profligacy slows real income growth, deters hiring, discourages innovation and drives up interest rates.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Such profligacy slows real income growth, deters hiring, discourages innovation and drives up interest rates.—
Bloomberg Opinion,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Freshman Keaton Wagler had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Illini (28-9), who reached their first Final Four since losing the championship game to North Carolina in 2005.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Vásquez didn’t factor in the decision after a defensive miscue led to the bullpen briefly losing the lead, but the emerging starting pitcher danced in and out of trouble in keeping the Red Sox at bay on an evening in which the wind chill dropped the temperature into the high 20s.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Turning a flaw into a feature In most quantum experiments, dissipation (a process where the system loses energy to its surroundings) is a problem to eliminate.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The aluminum build is lightweight, sturdy, and handles heat dissipation well, and the 240Hz WQXGA display is bright and colorful, with crisp resolution and good contrast.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The resolution emphasized that Bouchat is wasting taxpayer money and said his failure to perform duties is slowing down the chamber.—
Britta Miller,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Apr. 2026
-
But after wasting a big opportunity in the fifth, the Angels broke through in the sixth.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squandering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squandering. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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