as in spendthrift
someone who spends money freely or foolishly
the black sheep of the family, he ended up being a wastrel and a drunkard
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wastrel
Casting is everything; Minghella arranges for his most handsome performer, Jude Law, to play Dickie Greenleaf, the wealthy wastrel whom Ripley (Matt Damon) slays and then seeks to replace.
—
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
The aforementioned wastrel friend, now a drug dealer, asks Mike to do him a favor: Deliver a briefcase of pot to a hotel room.
—Time, 11 Aug. 2023
The always-entertaining Bruce Turk steals all his scenes as Ranevskaya’s spoiled and wastrel brother, Leonid Gayev.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2023
Selby is a wastrel with a criminal past, yet his mother keeps providing him with soft places to fall.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for wastrel
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
The aforementioned wastrel friend, now a drug dealer, asks Mike to do him a favor: Deliver a briefcase of pot to a hotel room.
—Time, 11 Aug. 2023
The always-entertaining Bruce Turk steals all his scenes as Ranevskaya’s spoiled and wastrel brother, Leonid Gayev.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2023
Selby is a wastrel with a criminal past, yet his mother keeps providing him with soft places to fall.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for wastrel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wastrel
Noun
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Republicans should make liberals justify their own spendthrift ways, rather than playing defense.—
Erick Erickson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 July 2025
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In a salary-cap league, every dollar matters, and the league made sure of that by adding tax aprons and a punishing repeater tax to rein in the most spendthrift owners.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
Noun
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Secrets are revealed, prodigals return, intolerances surface and family bonds are tested.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
17 Apr. 2025
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The food today is extraordinarily good and prodigal.—
Jeff Kleinman,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The biggest water waster, though, is cleaning during installation and use.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
13 Nov. 2014
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Who is a time waster and who is your next biggest client?—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wastrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wastrel. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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