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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wasteful
But despite eons of evolution, plants are surprisingly wasteful.
—
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026
Newsom pushes back on inefficiency critics A major theme from Thursday’s budget presentation was Newsom’s pushing back against California’s critics who say that his administration is wasteful and inefficient.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2026
What should receive less funding is wasteful bureaucracy and programs that don’t deliver results or undermine state and local authority.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
Slash the bureaucracy in the California Department of Education, cut wasteful spending and direct those funds toward providing resources directly to both school districts and parents.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for wasteful
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 May 2026
Newsom pushes back on inefficiency critics A major theme from Thursday’s budget presentation was Newsom’s pushing back against California’s critics who say that his administration is wasteful and inefficient.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2026
What should receive less funding is wasteful bureaucracy and programs that don’t deliver results or undermine state and local authority.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 May 2026
Slash the bureaucracy in the California Department of Education, cut wasteful spending and direct those funds toward providing resources directly to both school districts and parents.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for wasteful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wasteful
Adjective
-
Crucially for Cole’s metaphor, Nero’s rule was notorious for tyranny, self-dealing, and extravagant public spending on the construction of monuments to and for Nero himself.—
Tyler Green,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2026
-
Prosecutors say Violetta Mailyan used the money to live an extravagant lifestyle, helping to buy paintings, cars and multimillion-dollar properties.—
Grace Toohey,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
The economist’s description of the Fed chair was admiring, almost tender— comparing him to a kindly gardener who knew just how much sunlight to bestow upon the plants, or to a father figure who could keep his profligate and dissolute children on the right path.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
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Both sides had chances in a quieter second half but Brentford especially was profligate in front of goal.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Clarify the goal, assign the next step, and keep the tone generous.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2026
-
For families Aside from generous room and suite sizes, there are the simple things like kids menus at the restaurants and a cute farm animal stuffie for children to select at check-in.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
In many states, including Maryland, debtors may exempt substantial assets from bankruptcy, including retirement accounts, spendthrift trusts and substantial equity in real estate (unlimited in Texas).—
George Liebmann,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Apr. 2026
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To prevent this from occurring, parents can create an estate plan that ultimately places a spendthrift child’s inheritance into a trust that regulates how much the child can take out.—
Ty Bernicke,
Forbes.com,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That day, Cox donned a Braves uniform and seemed like nothing so much as a prodigal son come home.—
Mark Bradley for the AJC,
AJC.com,
9 May 2026
-
The prodigal player has returned.—
John Davis,
Daily News,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
He was charged with seven counts, including first-degree reckless endangering safety and two counts of eluding an officer.—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
17 May 2026
-
The spiral of menace is breathtaking as Gary continues to dig them in deeper with his misplaced confidence and reckless moves, and a bone-chilling warning left in the dead of night forces Irwin to bring Hester up to date.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
Isaiah Duncan-Simmons, 19, from Virginia Beach was booked and charged with disorderly conduct and careless damage of property by fire.—
Kelsie Cairns,
FOXNews.com,
22 May 2026
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Companies aren't careless—cleaning up massive repositories is genuinely painful work.—
Philip Brittan,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
Roughly a mile away as the crow flies is the site of what once was known as Mills College, which was a private, four-year liberal-arts college for women.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
-
Politically, the industry was equal parts liberal and libertarian, and was perhaps best reflected by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, created to protect the denizens of cyberspace from an overreaching government.—
Jonathan Weber,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wasteful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wasteful. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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