wasting

[wey-sting]

adjective

1. gradually reducing the fullness and strength of the body.

   a wasting disease.

2. laying waste; devastating; despoiling.

   the ravages of a wasting war.

noun

1. Geology.,  mass wasting.

wasting

/ ˈweɪstɪŋ /

adjective

1. (prenominal) reducing the vitality, strength, or robustness of the body

   a wasting disease

Other Word Forms

• wastingly adverb
• wastingness noun
• nonwasting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wasting¹

1200–50; Middle English; waste, -ing ², -ing ¹

Example Sentences

They likely are wasting their time: the data these early birds obtain don’t provide an advantage — and may actually lead them astray.

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This news isn’t simply something to give the typical worker indigestion on Thursday, but may be enough to make them think twice before wasting too much money on Black Friday as well.

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This discovery may support the development of future treatments for muscle wasting and acute injuries.

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If your father’s beneficiary designations are legitimate, your brother is likely wasting his own money and time, and yours, but you could still receive your 50% share at the end of this process.

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She supported equal rights and opportunities for women—but resented suggestions that stay-at-home moms were wasting their lives.

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Related Words

• blight 
• corrosion 
• decomposition 
• degeneration 
• deterioration 
• disintegration 
• disrepair 
• extinction 
• impairment 
• rot