as in wasteful
given to spending money freely or foolishly
the nightclub's ridiculous prices seem geared to squandering revelers with more money than sense
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as in wastefulness
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in spending
to use up carelessly
squandered all her money gambling in casinos
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dispersing
to cause (members of a group) to move widely apart
a single blast of the shotgun squandered the herd of deer
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Recent Examples of squandering
Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Kiké Hernández followed with a flyout to complete the squandering.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 1 Feb. 2026
A day after squandering a three-goal lead in a 4-3 overtime loss at Washington, Aho made sure the Hurricanes didn’t blow a 2-0 lead against the Kings.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
But McCurdy’s furious writing—her dystopian rendering of a culture squandering its dreams and desires on the crack high of cheap stuff—is hard to tear yourself away from.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
In the year before Spagnuolo arrived in Kansas City, the Chiefs defense ranked 24th in points allowed, squandering an MVP year from Patrick Mahomes.
—Jeff Fedotin, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Indeed, squandering fourth-quarter advantages become a troubling trend for the Ravens in Harbaugh’s last few seasons, and after a hamstring injury sidelined Jackson, Baltimore stumbled to a 1-5 start in 2025.
—Noah Trister, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026
Indeed, squandering significant advantages became a troubling trend in Harbaugh’s last few seasons.
—Noah Trister, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But the future really is more about what’s around Mahomes to avoid squandering any more of his transformative talent.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Dec. 2025
Similarly, the administration's approach to Turkey and Saudi Arabia suggests a willingness to extend trust and strategic concessions that may exceed what these relationships warrant, potentially squandering leverage on critical issues like the Abraham Accords.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025
Noun
This is the sort of managerial aimlessness the Post is being governed by, just one example of the missteps and squandering of opportunity framed as strategy.
—Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Kiké Hernández followed with a flyout to complete the squandering.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
Last week, the wind-power green scam artists were back in federal court, arguing to be permitted to keep squandering billions more on those insane offshore windmills that produce next to no energy, but plenty of pollution.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 1 Feb. 2026
A day after squandering a three-goal lead in a 4-3 overtime loss at Washington, Aho made sure the Hurricanes didn’t blow a 2-0 lead against the Kings.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
But McCurdy’s furious writing—her dystopian rendering of a culture squandering its dreams and desires on the crack high of cheap stuff—is hard to tear yourself away from.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
In the year before Spagnuolo arrived in Kansas City, the Chiefs defense ranked 24th in points allowed, squandering an MVP year from Patrick Mahomes.
—Jeff Fedotin, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Indeed, squandering fourth-quarter advantages become a troubling trend for the Ravens in Harbaugh’s last few seasons, and after a hamstring injury sidelined Jackson, Baltimore stumbled to a 1-5 start in 2025.
—Noah Trister, Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2026
Indeed, squandering significant advantages became a troubling trend in Harbaugh’s last few seasons.
—Noah Trister, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But the future really is more about what’s around Mahomes to avoid squandering any more of his transformative talent.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Dec. 2025
Similarly, the administration's approach to Turkey and Saudi Arabia suggests a willingness to extend trust and strategic concessions that may exceed what these relationships warrant, potentially squandering leverage on critical issues like the Abraham Accords.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squandering
Adjective
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The Democrats also largely take aim at how wasteful and ineffective the policy may be.—
STEPHEN GROVES,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The cost of changing to this dangerous policy will be an unnecessary, wasteful cost to Florida taxpayers.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Gabriel also acknowledged lawmakers’ responsibility to oversee state spending seriously as well, and would be scrutinizing government programs for wastefulness.—
Andrew Graham,
Sacbee.com,
13 Jan. 2026
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While an eight-game winning run saw Cherki, Foden and Haaland hit their devastating best, three frustrating draws against Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion were characterised by wastefulness in front of goal.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Utilities are spending billions of dollars upgrading their aging infrastructure, while data centers are prompting a surge in demand for electricity.—
Tami Luhby,
CNN Money,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Wagner Moura Basking in the sun outside The Times newsroom ahead of his digital cover shoot last month, Wagner Moura seemed exceptionally relaxed about spending his Tuesday afternoon in El Segundo with a bunch of journalists.—
Matt Brennan
Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Fit for purpose Next-gen designs could boost those gains by dispersing battery material around drone frames, electric motors, or other surfaces.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Some officers then deployed pepper balls, dispersing the crowd.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
There were no sitters within that catalogue of misses — nothing toe-curling or likely to do a million views on YouTube — but his profligacy allowed Dortmund to escape with a 2-1 win.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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Raising its own bar for college sports profligacy, the University of Texas’s athletic department reported spending $375.9 million in operating expenses in fiscal 2025—a $50 million jump over its previous, record-setting year.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Sewald came to the Diamondbacks from the Seattle Mariners in a trade deadline deal in 2023 and helped the D-backs make a surprise run to the Fall Classic before losing to the Texas Rangers in five games.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
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Businesses are losing foot traffic, changing their hours or closing entirely.—
Jeff Wagner,
CBS News,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The reactor facilitates rapid heat dissipation, preventing the thermal runaway that typically degrades catalysts.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
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Instead of requiring cooling systems that use large volumes of water like those on land, the network would rely on radiative cooling that occurs in space, which allows for the dissipation of heat.—
Bloomberg News,
Boston Herald,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This low-budget-looking spot was way more successful than the company's previous 2000 Super Bowl ad, the one that bragged about wasting 2 million bucks while showing a monkey dancing on a bucket.—
Debby Wolfinsohn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Feb. 2026
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When Ali Ansari was 12, living with his family in a single room at his aunt’s house in Woodland Hills, his immigrant mother told him to stop wasting time staring at his phone and try making money with it.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squandering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squandering. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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