wastrel

[ wey-struh l ]

/ ˈweɪ strəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wastrel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a wasteful person; spendthrift.

Chiefly British.

refuse; waste.
a waif; abandoned child.
an idler or good-for-nothing.

Nearby words

waster, wastewater, wasteweir, wasting, wasting asset, wastrel, wat, watap, watauga, watch, watch and ward

Origin of wastrel

First recorded in 1580–90; waste + -rel

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

Examples from the Web for wastrel

Indeed, as I have said before, ambition was the one thing which kept him from being a wastrel.
The Man Who Rose Again|Joseph Hocking
He felt himself ridiculous and wanted to leave the wastrel, but somehow could not.
Kit Musgrave's Luck|Harold Bindloss
I would explain that Mark must have gone out somewhere, and would myself introduce the wastrel brother to the tea-table.
The Red House Mystery|A. A. Milne
But I marvel to find that a writer of Mr. Lilly's intelligence and good faith is willing to father such a wastrel.
Essays Upon Some Controverted Questions|Thomas H. Huxley

After all, he is a pauper and a wastrel, and he has not the honour of bearing our Name.
The Lady of the Shroud|Bram Stoker

British Dictionary definitions for wastrel

wastrel

/ (ˈweɪstrəl) /

noun

a wasteful person; spendthrift; prodigal

an idler or vagabond

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

wastrel

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of wastrel

Examples from the Web for wastrel

British Dictionary definitions for wastrel

wastrel

noun