as in extravagant
given to spending money freely or foolishly
my one wasteful child always seemed to run out of money by midweek
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Recent Examples of wasteful
Under the previous administration, SSA promoted radical and wasteful DEI and gender ideology while employees worked from home.
—
Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
As such, Louisiana's proposal includes over $400 million dollars in wasteful and unnecessary taxpayer spending.
—Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 19 Aug. 2025
For companies, this is another significant financial investment in education and training — a totally wasteful one because there is no predictable ROI.
—Anand Rao, Fortune, 16 Aug. 2025
Hilton contends Democrats’ backing of the strategy is preventing homeless people from getting treatment and leading to wasteful spending on affordable housing projects, which can cost as much as $1 million a door in expensive parts of the state like the Bay Area.
—Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wasteful
Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
As such, Louisiana's proposal includes over $400 million dollars in wasteful and unnecessary taxpayer spending.
—Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 19 Aug. 2025
For companies, this is another significant financial investment in education and training — a totally wasteful one because there is no predictable ROI.
—Anand Rao, Fortune, 16 Aug. 2025
Hilton contends Democrats’ backing of the strategy is preventing homeless people from getting treatment and leading to wasteful spending on affordable housing projects, which can cost as much as $1 million a door in expensive parts of the state like the Bay Area.
—Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wasteful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wasteful
Adjective
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During the Edwardian period and early 20th century, luxury fur coats, full-length wraps, stoles, and extravagant collars were at the height of fashion—as much a symbol of wealth as any jewel.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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The spread is a rare offering in the Gopher State, where such extravagant homes don’t hit the market all that often.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Of course, the same folks who said Trump’s tariffs would cause runaway inflation also said Biden’s profligate spending wouldn’t cause inflation.—
E.J. Antoni,
Boston Herald,
13 July 2025
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Dembele, once a creative, two-footed but profligate winger who Luis Enrique coached into a prolific striker, has not started any of the five Club World Cup games.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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That Golden Quartet The chemistry between the four leads was undeniable — especially during those late-night kitchen table conversations, always over a generous slice of cheesecake.—
Marc Berman,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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Hot Cheesy Crab Dip There’s no quicker way to please a crowd than with Grandma’s cheese dip, and this recipe happens to include a generous helping of crab meat.—
Symiah Dorsey,
Southern Living,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Thanks to money-hungry special interests and spendthrift leaders, Californians pay among the highest corporate, sales, gas and income taxes in the nation.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
9 Sep. 2025
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Galle’s father worked for Marie Antoinette, but the French Revolution unsurprisingly had a major impact on the aristocratic market for spendthrift furnishings like this.—
Christopher Knight,
Los Angeles Times,
21 May 2024
Adjective
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McDaniels is the true prodigal Patriot.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
7 Sep. 2025
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Just how much will family visit the prodigal son Danny Reagan in Boston Blue?—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The charges of reckless endangerment of children are because Reed is accused of firing a gun in a parking lot where children were present, North Richland Hills police spokesperson Carissa Katekaru said.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Sep. 2025
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Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur, in contrast, cut one of the most open — stroke reckless — teams the Premier League has encountered, with different intensity levels entirely, shown above.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Protecting Users From Themselves No matter how sophisticated network defenses are, a careless action can undo them.—
Max Silber,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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The programmer seems to have been a little careless.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Since the release of ChatGPT, in 2022, colleges and universities have been engaged in an experiment to discover whether artificially intelligent chatbots and the liberal-arts tradition can coexist.—
Tyler Austin Harper,
The Atlantic,
11 Sep. 2025
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The one-two punch aims to put Republicans on notice and sends a political message to the Democrats’ liberal base — which was furious after Schumer helped usher an earlier spending bill into law — that party leaders are united, at least for a moment, and itching for a fight.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wasteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wasteful. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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