wastrel

noun

wast·​rel ˈwā-strəl 

 also  ˈwä-

1

: vagabond, waif

2

: one who expends resources foolishly and self-indulgently : profligate

Synonyms

• fritterer
• high roller
• prodigal
• profligate
• spender
• spendthrift
• squanderer
• waster

Examples of wastrel in a Sentence

the black sheep of the family, he ended up being a wastrel and a drunkard

Recent Examples on the Web

Ridley, traumatized by the cancer death of her mother and considered mostly a wastrel by those around her for pursuing a degree in the dread-inducing major of art history, knows a thing or two about the mythology behind these kindly rainbow-spewing creatures. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025

Henry Muck, suitably nicknamed Prince Hal by his family and friends, may be Industry’s version of the ultimate privileged wastrel. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2024

Atay lingers on the outskirts, keeping the company of workers and wastrels, poets and drunks—all those who refuse the monumental transformations of Turkish society. —Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

irregular from waste entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wastrel

noun

wast·​rel ˈwā-strəl 

: spendthrift