Synonyms of waste

waste 1 of 4

noun

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

• wastefulness
• luxury
• extravagance
• prodigality
• wastage
• squandering
• indulgence
• splurge
• loss
• dissipation
• excess
• profligacy
• profusion
• overkill
• overindulgence
• self-indulgence
• immoderacy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• necessity
• saving
• economy
• conservation
• thrift
• frugality
• parsimony
• restraint
• skimping
• moderation
• economizing
• temperance
• scrimping
• austerity
• belt-tightening
• penny-pinching
• temperateness

2

as in garbage

discarded or useless material

gathered up the waste when he was finished sewing

Synonyms & Similar Words

• garbage
• debris
• trash
• rubbish
• junk
• dust
• sewage
• litter
• rubble
• truck
• dross
• refuse
• offal
• effluvia
• chaff
• deadwood
• scrap
• drek
• effluvium
• raffle
• lumber
• spilth
• dreck
• wash
• riffraff
• ruins
• wreckage
• detritus
• offscouring
• dump
• swill
• discard
• crud
• scrap heap
• remains
• flotsam
• trumpery
• straw
• nothing
• jetsam
• reject
• cull
• slop
• throwaway
• odds and ends
• two bits
• castoff
• hand-me-down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• treasure
• prize
• catch
• treasure trove
• pearl
• gem
• plum
• trove
• jewel
• find
• valuable
• salvage
• goodie
• goody
• booty

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• desert
• barren
• wasteland
• wilderness
• heath
• desolation
• no-man's-land
• brush
• bush
• wild
• dust bowl
• badland
• open air
• open
• outdoors
• out-of-doors
• nature

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dung
• soil
• dirt
• excrement
• excreta
• dropping
• feces
• poop
• slops
• muck
• scat
• sewage
• ordure
• doo-doo
• manure
• stool
• guano
• sewerage
• night soil
• dunghill
• midden
• spoor
• coprolite

5

as in expansion

a wide space or area

a legendary mariner doomed to sail the watery wastes of the world until Judgment Day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• expansion
• expanse
• stretch
• length
• plain
• sheet
• extent
• distance
• breadth
• reach
• field
• spread
• depth
• territory
• scope
• spectrum
• domain
• sphere
• sweep
• scale
• void
• extension
• range
• span
• emptiness
• gamut
• compass
• amplitude
• magnitude
• immensity
• latitude

6

as in erosion

a gradual weakening, loss, or destruction

the slow waste of the once broad beach by the relentless tide

Synonyms & Similar Words

• erosion
• corrosion
• decomposition
• undermining
• decay
• attrition
• disintegration
• breakdown
• dissolution

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• increase
• buildup
• gain

waste

2 of 4

verb (1)

1

as in to spend

to use up carelessly

he wasted his lottery winnings on booze-soaked nights with gold diggers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spend
• lose
• squander
• lavish
• throw away
• misspend
• dissipate
• run through
• trifle (away)
• blow
• fritter (away)
• consume
• make ducks and drakes of
• fiddle away
• play ducks and drakes with
• splurge
• deplete
• exhaust
• expend
• impoverish
• indulge
• overspend
• disburse
• lay out
• overindulge
• shoot

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• conserve
• save
• economize
• protect
• preserve
• skimp
• hoard
• scrimp
• lay up

2

as in to ruin

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of

one country attempting to waste another

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ruin
• destroy
• demolish
• wreck
• devastate
• shatter
• damage
• smash
• overcome
• total
• desolate
• tear down
• vaporize
• extinguish
• cream
• annihilate
• pull down
• erode
• pulverize
• decimate
• rub out
• mar
• cripple
• ravage
• raze
• kill
• wrack
• break
• nuke
• remove
• defeat
• dismantle
• blast
• crush
• best
• spoil
• do in
• harm
• injure
• subdue
• disintegrate
• impair
• lick
• win (against)
• deteriorate
• master
• triumph (over)
• conquer
• scotch
• dissolve
• prevail (over)
• trim
• sack
• sweep (away)
• eradicate
• blow up
• thrash
• surmount
• trash
• wear (away)
• slaughter
• dynamite
• mutilate
• disfigure
• rout
• wash out
• wipe out
• deface
• vitiate
• havoc
• scour
• plunder
• whip
• take down
• undo
• obliterate
• mangle
• blot out
• loot
• beat
• cut down
• disassemble
• fell
• unmake
• clobber
• liquidate
• gut
• assassinate
• expunge
• extirpate
• exterminate
• overbear
• murder
• snuff (out)
• despoil
• kill off
• stamp (out)
• overmatch
• skunk
• pillage
• wallop
• butcher
• slay
• take out
• drub
• trample
• root (out)
• dilapidate
• mow (down)
• trounce
• massacre
• execute
• dispatch
• zap
• efface
• vandalize
• unbuild

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• build
• set up
• construct
• raise
• put up
• create
• repair
• erect
• patch
• fix
• produce
• make
• rear
• form
• manufacture
• found
• save
• invent
• shape
• mend
• constitute
• bring about
• protect
• assemble
• mold
• organize
• establish
• fashion
• preserve
• conserve
• frame
• fabricate
• forge
• revamp
• institute
• recondition
• doctor
• restore
• rebuild
• reconstruct
• father
• renovate
• remodel

3

as in to weaken

to diminish the physical strength of

endless months of inactivity wasted him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• weaken
• soften
• exhaust
• tire
• hurt
• sap
• damage
• injure
• debilitate
• paralyze
• enfeeble
• deplete
• devitalize
• enervate
• harm
• cripple
• impair
• depress
• prostrate
• etiolate
• impoverish
• incapacitate
• disable
• grind (down)
• invalid
• hamstring
• lay up
• wash out
• wear out
• wear down
• unman
• break down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthen
• fortify
• recruit
• energize
• beef (up)
• season
• rejuvenate
• invigorate
• harden
• vitalize
• toughen

waste

3 of 4

adjective

as in barren

producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation

waste acreage that was not fit for anything

Synonyms & Similar Words

• barren
• desolate
• impoverished
• poor
• unproductive
• bleak
• bony
• dry
• unfertile
• infertile
• dead
• hardscrabble
• desert
• stark
• consumed
• spent
• lifeless
• drained
• boney
• thirsty
• depleted
• expended
• exhausted
• reduced
• inhospitable
• uncultivable
• diminished
• untillable
• arid
• waterless
• debilitated
• dehydrated
• sear
• droughty
• lessened
• enfeebled
• dried-up
• baked
• bankrupted
• sere
• sunbaked
• parched
• used up
• rainless

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• productive
• rich
• fertile
• fruitful
• lush
• green
• luxuriant
• arable
• tillable
• verdant
• sylvan

waste (away)

4 of 4

verb (2)

as in to fade

to lose bodily strength or vigor

the tuberculosis resulted in her simply wasting away

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fade
• weaken
• go
• sag
• fail
• sink
• decay
• lag
• wither
• deteriorate
• languish
• droop
• wilt
• flag
• wear out
• break down
• run down
• emaciate
• yield
• rot
• degenerate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recover
• rally
• rebound
• recuperate
• gain
• convalesce

Phrases Containing waste

• waste (away)