Synonyms of wastes

wastes 1 of 2

noun

plural of waste

1

as in luxuries

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

• luxuries
• extravagances
• prodigalities
• wastages
• losses
• dissipations
• indulgences
• splurges
• excesses
• profusions
• profligacies
• overindulgences
• overkills
• self-indulgences
• immoderacies

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• necessities
• savings
• economies
• frugalities
• thrifts
• parsimonies
• conservations
• restraints
• austerities
• temperances
• penny-pinchings
• belt-tightenings
• moderations

2

as in deserts

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

• deserts
• barrens
• wastelands
• wildernesses
• heaths
• bushes
• desolations
• wilds
• no-man's-lands
• brushes
• badlands
• outdoors
• dust bowls
• natures

3

as in expanses

a wide space or area

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• expanses
• expansions
• stretches
• reaches
• plains
• distances
• lengths
• sheets
• depths
• fields
• spreads
• breadths
• territories
• extents
• sweeps
• domains
• voids
• spheres
• spectra
• scales
• spans
• ranges
• extensions
• scopes
• magnitudes
• immensities
• latitudes
• gamuts
• amplitudes
• compasses

4

as in erosions

a gradual weakening, loss, or destruction

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• erosions
• corrosions
• decays
• decompositions
• breakdowns
• attritions
• disintegrations
• dissolutions

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• increases
• gains
• buildups

wastes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of waste

1

as in spends

to use up carelessly

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spends
• loses
• squanders
• runs through
• dissipates
• lavishes
• throws away
• blows
• consumes
• misspends
• trifles (away)
• exhausts
• fritters (away)
• depletes
• fiddles away
• plays ducks and drakes with
• impoverishes
• expends
• indulges
• overspends
• disburses
• splurges
• overindulges
• shoots
• lays out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• conserves
• economizes
• saves
• protects
• preserves
• skimps
• scrimps
• hoards
• lays up

2

as in destroys

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

one country attempting to waste another

Synonyms & Similar Words

• destroys
• ruins
• demolishes
• wrecks
• devastates
• shatters
• smashes
• overcomes
• damages
• pulverizes
• vaporizes
• annihilates
• erodes
• desolates
• extinguishes
• ravages
• decimates
• wracks
• totals
• nukes
• tears down
• razes
• cripples
• mars
• rubs out
• pulls down
• creams
• kills
• removes
• breaks
• does in
• crushes
• defeats
• dismantles
• blasts
• spoils
• harms
• injures
• subdues
• conquers
• deteriorates
• disintegrates
• impairs
• licks
• masters
• dissolves
• prevails (over)
• surmounts
• disfigures
• bests
• wins (against)
• thrashes
• mutilates
• overbears
• trims
• clobbers
• triumphs (over)
• eradicates
• despoils
• vitiates
• dynamites
• sweeps (away)
• defaces
• routs
• guts
• scours
• whips
• mangles
• plunders
• blows up
• unmakes
• obliterates
• beats
• scotches
• exterminates
• trounces
• expunges
• slaughters
• overmatches
• wears (away)
• undoes
• wallops
• wipes out
• washes out
• liquidates
• trashes
• sacks
• tramples
• disassembles
• extirpates
• assassinates
• loots
• vandalizes
• murders
• stamps (out)
• effaces
• slays
• pillages
• drubs
• takes down
• blots out
• zaps
• roots (out)
• cuts down
• snuffs (out)
• kills off
• executes
• dispatches
• mows (down)
• skunks
• dilapidates
• takes out
• unbuilds
• fells
• massacres
• butchers
• havocs

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• builds
• raises
• constructs
• repairs
• creates
• sets up
• doctors
• produces
• erects
• fixes
• makes
• rears
• manufactures
• forms
• puts up
• invents
• constitutes
• shapes
• saves
• assembles
• fathers
• protects
• institutes
• establishes
• organizes
• brings about
• reconditions
• fashions
• conserves
• preserves
• frames
• mends
• founds
• patches
• revamps
• molds
• restores
• forges
• fabricates
• reconstructs
• rebuilds
• renovates
• remodels

3

as in weakens

to diminish the physical strength of

endless months of inactivity wasted him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• weakens
• softens
• exhausts
• saps
• hurts
• tires
• injures
• debilitates
• enfeebles
• enervates
• paralyzes
• damages
• depletes
• cripples
• depresses
• devitalizes
• prostrates
• impairs
• harms
• etiolates
• impoverishes
• incapacitates
• disables
• hamstrings
• grinds (down)
• invalids
• wears out
• lays up
• washes out
• wears down
• unmans
• breaks down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• strengthens
• fortifies
• recruits
• energizes
• invigorates
• rejuvenates
• vitalizes
• seasons
• beefs (up)
• hardens
• toughens

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of wastes

Noun

It can be processed only with special techniques and procedures, and the mildly radioactive wastes generated by processing must be stored in isolation indefinitely. — Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2026

Running an advanced reasoning model on repetitive work wastes resources, while running a lightweight model on strategic analysis yields disappointing results. — Paul Deraval, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026

According to the International Maritime Organization, biofouling wastes about 10% of all fuel used by the world's shipping fleets. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2026

There are numerous federal regulations from different agencies around discharges of radium to the environment, but many do not directly apply to oil and gas wastes. — Nathaniel Warner, The Conversation, 24 July 2026

But watering the lawn in summer wastes water, which can be expensive. — Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 20 July 2026

In 2015, a battery recycling plant that had been operating in Vernon for decades had to close down and pay $50 million toward cleaning up its hazardous wastes such as lead dust, cadmium and arsenic. — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026

Being under 5-foot-4 can make clothes shopping tough—pants drag, dresses hang long, and constant tailoring wastes time and money. — Melony Forcier, InStyle, 24 June 2026

Nolan and the cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, wielding heavy IMAX cameras, shot their picture across the Mediterranean and beyond, in caves, castles, beaches, black-sand wastes, and open water. — David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026

Verb

Speech is the most natural interface to any intelligence, super or otherwise, and today’s voice AI wastes it. — Jay Peters, The Verge, 23 Oct. 2026

The pilot for Eternally Yours wastes its story, larding up on exposition that definitely could have been distributed throughout an entire season. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

Using the wrong one for your hair type wastes money and delivers no visible result. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026

You’re known for being a man with a plan, who wastes little time. — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026

That wastes some of the most useful field information a company receives. — Christopher Kiggins, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026

Fix the one recurring inconvenience that wastes time or money. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026

This recombination prevents the charges from reaching the electrodes, which wastes potential electrical power. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026

The group argues the city’s support wastes tax dollars on private business when the city has needs elsewhere. — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026