Synonyms

squander

American

[skwon-der] / ˈskwɒn dər /

verb (used with object)

to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly or wastefully (often followed byaway ).

Synonyms:

lavish, dissipate, waste

Antonyms:

save
to scatter.

noun

extravagant or wasteful expenditure.

squander British

/ ˈskwɒndə /

verb

to spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate
an obsolete word for scatter

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

rare extravagance or dissipation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See spend.

Other Word Forms

resquander verb (used with object)
squanderer noun
squanderingly adverb
unsquandered adjective

Etymology

Origin of squander

First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain

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.

We are squandering that advantage arguing about whether to peel guardrails off jail-breakable systems and blacklisting the companies that build them.

From The Wall Street Journal

Their conclusion seems to have been that this was an opportunity that should not be squandered.

From BBC

It is a welcome change for a side that squandered any chances they did create in Australia.

From BBC

I have wondered in these pages whether people are squandering their retirement on eating out.

From MarketWatch

They have come in for criticism after squandering a 2-0 lead against bottom side Wolves on Wednesday, conceding a 94th-minute equaliser.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023