wastrel

American  

[wey-struhl] / ˈweɪ strəl /

noun

1. a wasteful person; spendthrift.

   The wastrel had squandered his inheritance, and then came to her, looking for a handout.

2. Chiefly British.

   1. refuse; waste.

   2. a waif; abandoned child.

   3. an idler or good-for-nothing.

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wastrel British  

/ ˈweɪstrəl /

noun

1. a wasteful person; spendthrift; prodigal

2. an idler or vagabond

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Etymology

Origin of wastrel

First recorded in 1580–90; waste + -rel

Example Sentences

Its inhabitants are those of “there will always be an England” England: stern vicars, timid curates, lords and earls, penniless titled wastrels living on allowances from their uncles, imperious aunts, upper-crust twits.

From Los Angeles Times

“Let’s get rid of this wastrel. He’s not worth the effort.”

From Literature

In one story, a hollow-eyed masseuse mourns the abrupt, outwardly random death of her son and the loss of her business to the pandemic as her wastrel husband dreams and schemes.

From New York Times

“Logevall artfully melds the biographical and historical approaches. Though crafted as a kind of bildungsroman, ‘JFK’ delivers something more than the traditional story of the callow wastrel’s maturation into the admirable adult.”

From New York Times

He has all the makings of a colorful reality show character – a rich and feckless wastrel given to sporting designer sunglasses and smoking jackets while partying in Houston's tony neighborhood of River Oaks.

From Salon