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Synonyms

wasteful

American  
[weyst-fuhl] / ˈweɪst fəl /

adjective

  1. given to or characterized by useless consumption or expenditure.

    wasteful methods; a wasteful way of life.

  2. grossly extravagant; prodigal.

    a wasteful party.

  3. devastating or destructive.

    wasteful war.


wasteful British  
/ ˈweɪstfʊl /

adjective

  1. tending to waste or squander; extravagant

  2. causing waste, destruction, or devastation

"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

Other Word Forms

  • unwasteful adjective
  • unwastefully adverb
  • unwastefulness noun
  • wastefully adverb
  • wastefulness noun

Etymology

Origin of wasteful

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

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.

Beyond wasteful projects, the crown prince has had accomplishments in the first decade of his Vision 2030 plan to transform the kingdom from dependence on oil.

From The Wall Street Journal

He’d asked his aunt once if they could get burgers, but she said that paying for takeout was wasteful, and that she had spent enough money “cleaning up my little sister’s problems.”

From Literature

The biggest xG underperformer in the league, only three players have been more wasteful than Mateta across Europe's top five leagues.

From BBC

Xi has indicated over the years that he has deep-rooted philosophical objections to Western-style consumerism, seeing it as wasteful.

From The Wall Street Journal

Estimated to cost around a billion euros, unions and some art critics have called the project wasteful.

From Barron's