WASTING Synonyms: 304 Similar and Opposite Words

wasting 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of wasting

as in wasteful

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Dissimilar Words

wasting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of waste

as in spending

to use up carelessly he wasted his lottery winnings on booze-soaked nights with gold diggers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in destroying

to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of one country attempting to waste another

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in weakening

to diminish the physical strength of endless months of inactivity wasted him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of wasting

Verb

As Mars and Saturn clash, avoid wasting your energy trying to fight FOMO! — Usa Today, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 The Dodgers dropped another one-run heartbreaker in Detroit, wasting Blake Snell’s five innings of one-run baseball as the Tigers walked off with a 2-1 win. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026 School uniforms can avoid many of these issues, keeping kids in the classroom rather than the front office and preventing staff from wasting time trying to enforce commonly problematic policies. — Amy Morin, Parents, 27 Aug. 2026 After scoring the game’s first run in the top of the 10th, the Angels gave up two with two outs in the bottom of the inning, losing to the Texas Rangers, 2-1, on Friday night, once again wasting a scoreless start from Reid Detmers. — Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2026 Personalize Outreach To Dream Customers Stop wasting your tiny budget trying to scream at a cold, massive audience. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Hurzeler singled out David Raya for criticism over time-wasting when the Arsenal goalkeeper went down for treatment in the second half of that March encounter. — Andy Naylor, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026 Skeptics say such psychic profilers do more harm than good by wasting police resources and exploiting grieving families. — Amanda Musa, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026 But the speedy predators have been unable to outrun a wasting disease that's killed billions of sea stars. — John Ryan, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wasting

Adjective

The new rules aim to minimize the use of wasteful packaging as the economy transitions to become more circular.

— Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 1 Sep. 2026
While many cyclists like to alternate between sipping water and energy gel, doing so can be an awkward, messy and wasteful process.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of wasteful

Verb

He was allowed to leave the country, spending weeks at a rehab facility in Switzerland.

— Bob Harkins, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
In the sweet snaps, the mother-son duo could be seen spending time together on the beach, posing after a tennis lesson and hanging out on vacation.

— Georgia Slater, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of spending

Verb

Demonstrators carrying Spanish flags moved toward beachside migrant camps last week, destroying shelters and setting fires as police attempted to keep protesters and migrants apart, according to Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE and news agency EFE.

— Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Several homeowners near Meta’s massive Newton County data center have filed a lawsuit accusing the tech company and others of tainting their water and destroying their rural way of life.

— Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of destroying

Verb

If superconductivity in magic-angle graphene were primarily driven by phonons, or vibrations of the atomic lattice, weakening Coulomb interactions would be expected to leave the effect largely unchanged or even strengthen it slightly.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
Caterpillar carries a weakening relative strength score of just 4 out of 10 versus the S & P 500.

— Tony Zhang, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of weakening

Adjective

This shift occasioned the profligate production that would mark her oeuvre, with Kusama going on to make hundreds of paintings in which forests of lines and dots cradled variously floral and phallic figures.

— News Desk, Artforum, 27 Aug. 2026
Just as life in industrial urban centers in the nineteenth century caused hardship in rural villages, the profligate lifestyles enjoyed by those of us in the Global North are underwritten by the immiseration of those in the Global South.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026

Definition of profligate

Verb

But at this point, many SEC administrators would rather find out by getting a win or by losing and then moving forward with that knowledge.

— Seth Emerson, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
The tropical cyclone reached Category 5, defined by sustained winds of 157 mph or greater, overnight Friday before losing some of its steam and settling into Category 4’s limits of sustained winds of 130 to 156 mph by Saturday.

— Dennis Romero, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of losing

Verb

The Horned Frogs crushed the Tar Heels 48-14 in last year’s season opener at Chapel Hill, ruining the college coaching debut of six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick.

— Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2026
So, are invasives ruining the state’s waters, or is the state on the way to becoming the everyman’s Amazon, embraced by the folks who can’t afford the jungle lodge experience?

— Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of ruining

Verb

From removing stubborn stains to softening scratchy towels, vinegar consistently tackles the problems that detergents and fabric softeners sometimes leave behind.

— Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 2026
Meanwhile, the vitamins, delivered via skin-softening plant oils, help moisturize and firm the skin.

— Jenny Berg, Vogue, 31 Aug. 2026