wasteful

[ weyst-fuh l ]

/ ˈweɪst fəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wasteful ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

given to or characterized by useless consumption or expenditure: wasteful methods; a wasteful way of life.

grossly extravagant; prodigal: a wasteful party.

devastating or destructive: wasteful war.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of wasteful

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at waste, -ful

Related forms

waste·ful·ly, adverbwaste·ful·ness, nounun·waste·ful, adjectiveun·waste·ful·ly, adverb

un·waste·ful·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wasteful

Two-thirds agree that “government is usually inefficient and wasteful.”
Hey, Boomers—Millennials Hate Your Partisan Crap|Nick Gillespie|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Though with budget cuts now looming, Congress is trying to gut some of those benefits while wasteful programs go untouched.
The U.S. Military Is a Socialist Paradise|Jacob Siegel|April 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The most interesting part of eccentricity may be just how wasteful it usually is.
The World According to an Eccentric|Justin Green|April 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
If those 3s turn into 2's and 1's, then it will be clear that this whole program was a giant, wasteful mess.
Solyndra 2.0|Megan McArdle|April 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST

In search of wasteful government spending, Eric Cantor sets his pants on fire.
Sequester Misfire: Eric Cantor’s World of Warcraft Nonsense|John Avlon|February 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The first period resulted in a good deal of wasteful effort on both sides.
Center Rush Rowland|Ralph Henry Barbour
The vexatious and wasteful conflict between naturalism and humanism is terminated.
Reconstruction in Philosophy|John Dewey
In that wasteful day a timber-claim was not looked upon as valuable.
The Valley of the Giants|Peter B. Kyne
The tax-exempt organizations have a vested interest in the oppressive, inequitable, and wasteful federal-income-tax system.
The Invisible Government|Dan Smoot
To my mind, in the wasteful and blighting influences of slave labor there is a solemn and warning moral.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII)|John Greenleaf Whittier

British Dictionary definitions for wasteful

wasteful

/ (ˈweɪstfʊl) /

adjective

tending to waste or squander; extravagant

causing waste, destruction, or devastation

Derived Formswastefully, adverbwastefulness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for wasteful

wasteful

adj.

14c., from waste (n.) + -ful. Related: Wastefully; wastefulness.