1
as in wastefulness
an instance of spending money or resources without care or restraint
it seems like a waste to spend my entire paycheck on a bigger TV
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in garbage
discarded or useless material
gathered up the waste when he was finished sewing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in desert
land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops
an area that was a barren waste after the strip-mining had ended
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4
as in dung
solid matter discharged from an animal's alimentary canal
a local ordinance requiring dog owners to properly dispose of their pet's waste
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5
as in expansion
a wide space or area
a legendary mariner doomed to sail the watery wastes of the world until Judgment Day
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6
as in erosion
a gradual weakening, loss, or destruction
the slow waste of the once broad beach by the relentless tide
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to spend
to use up carelessly
he wasted his lottery winnings on booze-soaked nights with gold diggers
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2
as in to ruin
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
one country attempting to waste another
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3
as in to weaken
to diminish the physical strength of
endless months of inactivity wasted him
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as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
waste acreage that was not fit for anything
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waste
Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 13 Jan. 2026
That doesn’t even account for the water waste created in the facilities that manufacture our products.
—Loren Savini, Allure, 13 Jan. 2026
Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
When 6 to 8% of every construction dollar spent in New York is wasted on insurance premiums covering absolute liability, the Scaffold Law is killing our ability to make anything affordable from housing to new schools and subway lines.
—Elizabeth Crowley, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
Lauren Weber, WSJ, 17 May 2021
The new anti-waste law aims to encourage buyers to repair their devices rather than replace them with new products.
—Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for waste
Noun
It is made from recycled pre- and post-consumer textile waste.
—Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 13 Jan. 2026
That doesn’t even account for the water waste created in the facilities that manufacture our products.
—Loren Savini, Allure, 13 Jan. 2026
Verb
Translating basically to bring it on, the California governor wasted little time Tuesday morning taking up the 79-year-old former Apprentice host on his cognitive test challenge.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026
When 6 to 8% of every construction dollar spent in New York is wasted on insurance premiums covering absolute liability, the Scaffold Law is killing our ability to make anything affordable from housing to new schools and subway lines.
—Elizabeth Crowley, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
For many of them, working at a high-growth company with a feel-good, anti-waste mission had felt like the pinnacle of their working lives.
—Lauren Weber, WSJ, 17 May 2021
The new anti-waste law aims to encourage buyers to repair their devices rather than replace them with new products.
—Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for waste
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waste
Noun
-
She’s also previously called out wastefulness in the music industry specifically.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
30 Oct. 2025
-
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
Noun
-
Installed on the former garbage dump bounded by Sunset, Lewis, Western and Glen Flora avenues, there are now 20,000 solar panels.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Rescuers retrieved eight people alive and were searching for the missing still trapped after a huge mound of garbage and debris collapsed on them in the village of Binaliw in Cebu city, police said.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Apart from its soft-power flexes, China has become a leading arms supplier to the region while establishing footholds for its military, such as the Espacio Lejano Space Station, an advanced radar system China operates in the Patagonian desert under a 50-year lease from the government of Argentina.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The picture that emerged from a three-day visit last month to Nevada is that finding happiness in the desert hasn’t come easy either.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
These rodents left 15 pieces of dung on top of the dishwasher.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
19 Dec. 2025
-
That fascination has led to more recent, post-retirement explorations into the role that the lowly dung and the lofty condor play in maintaining environmental health and balance.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
23 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The federal government pays 90% of the costs of Idaho’s Medicaid expansion, which as of early 2025 provided access to care for about 90,000 lower-income Idaho residents who earn too much to qualify for standard Medicaid but not enough for private insurance discounts.—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Washington’s neutrality preserved the republic’s future, enabling economic expansion under the funding system Hamilton designed, territorial growth through the Louisiana Purchase and beyond, and eventual emergence as a great power capable of tipping global balances.—
Daniel Ross Goodman,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The house that burned was one small piece of a larger unraveling — the erosion not just of walls but of trust.—
Jonathan Taplin,
Rolling Stone,
7 Jan. 2026
-
On a remote island in the Chesapeake Bay, a deeply rooted Christian fishing community confronts the erosion of land and tradition, as their centuries-old way of life, anchored in faith, approaches a turning point.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Joabe Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Omar Yousaf spent the day riding the entire MARTA rail system in an attempt to complete the full route in roughly three hours.—
Kaley Fedko,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
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Visitors can spend their entire trip switching off between the two, but be sure to take some time to explore the rocky cove beaches called calas that have made Costa Blanca famous.—
Liz Provencher,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
And, from this week’s issue, Nicola Twilley’s reporting on another lingering effect of the wildfires—smoke taint that is ruining grapes and threatening California’s wine industry.—
Dana Goodyear,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
-
This will either change your life or ruin you.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waste.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waste. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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