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

Biology feeds on wastes and transforms it into something new. — John Werner, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 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

Sending spent batteries to landfills wastes valuable materials and years of remaining electrochemical life. — IEEE Spectrum, 2 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

Lanterns wastes little time explaining this backstory ad nauseam and instead creates an immediately inviting dynamic between him and Hal, who comes to him demanding information on Manhunters. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026

Hathaway reunited with Nolan for the heady space drama Interstellar, and once again, the director wastes none of her talents. — Chris Bellamy, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026

Nailing it down too early just wastes time because your vision's granular details will evolve throughout the journey anyway. — Chris Strouthopoulos, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Donating unsuitable items wastes time and resources, so focus on clean, usable pieces. — Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 28 July 2026

False-positive rates matter operationally, as acting on a misclassification wastes resources and might reveal sensor positions. — Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 24 July 2026

Indeed, Congress periodically engages in a debt ceiling charade, which wastes a lot of time and energy and limits nothing. — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 15 July 2026

Beth wastes no time shutting down the conversation. — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 13 June 2026

Instead, Greenbaum, who did far better and smarter work with many of the same people in Too Funny to Fail and Will & Harper, wastes time on a voiceover device that’s too cutesy to be worth the effort and a three-act structure that’s more for the benefit of his editors than the audience. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 10 June 2026