squander
Americanverb
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to spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate
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an obsolete word for scatter
noun
Synonym Usage
See spend.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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squandersimple
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squanderssimple
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have squanderedperfect
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has squanderedperfect
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am squanderingprogressive
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are squanderingprogressive
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is squanderingprogressive
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have been squanderingperfect progressive
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has been squanderingperfect progressive
Past
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squanderedsimple
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had squanderedperfect
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was squanderingprogressive
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were squanderingprogressive
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had been squanderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of squander
First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain
Explanation
To squander means to spend extravagantly, thoughtlessly, or wastefully. If you need to save for college, don't squander your income on nightly sushi dinners. Squander used to mean scatter, and the way we use it now implies throwing something (like money) all over the place. You can squander time as well as money. If you have a big deadline but you are chatting away or looking at social networking sites, you are squandering your time. If you have an opportunity to play for a major league baseball team but show up late to tryouts and criticize the coach, you have probably squandered your chance.
Vocabulary lists containing squander
Fahrenheit 451
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Touching Spirit Bear
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The real message may be this: “Don’t Squander It.”
From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2011
Squander "the capital represented by living nature" and you "threaten life itself".
From The Guardian • Mar. 27, 2011
Squander more, and people will start to laugh.
From The Guardian • Nov. 21, 2010
Use both the great and lesser heavenly light,— Squander the stars in any number, Beasts, birds, trees, rocks, and all such lumber, Fire, water, darkness, Day and Night!
From Faust by Taylor, Bayard
Frowning and forefending angel-warder Squander the hell-rook ranks sally to molest him; March, kind comrade, abreast him; Dress his days to a dexterous and starlight order.
From Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins Now First Published by Bridges, Robert Seymour
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
