wasted
Americanadjective
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done to no avail; useless.
wasted efforts.
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physically or psychologically exhausted; debilitated.
to be wasted by a long illness.
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Slang. overcome by the influence of alcohol or drugs.
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Archaic. (of time) gone by.
adjective
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not exploited or taken advantage of
a wasted opportunity
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useless or unprofitable
wasted effort
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physically enfeebled and emaciated
a thin wasted figure
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slang showing signs of habitual drug abuse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of wasted
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at waste, -ed 2
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.
And a quiet offensive night for the Dodgers wasted a quality start from right-hander Emmett Sheehan.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
At its best, the restaurant drama can be sublime, possibly the best thing on TV; but the past two seasons have felt like a wasted opportunity, with the story largely spinning its wheels.
From MarketWatch • May 31, 2026
Mostly it felt like a wasted opportunity: A once-beloved team, in a basketball mecca, sinking its future and alienating its fan base with contentious leadership, murky vision and somnambulant play.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
He wasted no time in showing the extent of his decades-long discography by teasing his classic track Praise You before sampling Queen's iconic Don't Stop Me Now.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
But if you wasted every day worrying about the next....And you never knew what was coming, anyway.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
