1
as in wastefulness
an instance of spending money or resources without care or restraint
it seems like a waste to spend my entire paycheck on a bigger TV
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in garbage
discarded or useless material
gathered up the waste when he was finished sewing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in desert
land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops
an area that was a barren waste after the strip-mining had ended
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in dung
solid matter discharged from an animal's alimentary canal
a local ordinance requiring dog owners to properly dispose of their pet's waste
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in expansion
a wide space or area
a legendary mariner doomed to sail the watery wastes of the world until Judgment Day
Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in erosion
a gradual weakening, loss, or destruction
the slow waste of the once broad beach by the relentless tide
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to spend
to use up carelessly
he wasted his lottery winnings on booze-soaked nights with gold diggers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to ruin
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
one country attempting to waste another
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to weaken
to diminish the physical strength of
endless months of inactivity wasted him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
waste acreage that was not fit for anything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of waste
Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 28 Feb. 2025
There are no proposals that have been released that actually are targeting cutting waste.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2025
Melissa Santos, Axios, 18 Feb. 2025
Read: Stop wasting your fridge space Such misconceptions about frozen food have been debunked in recent years.
—Meghan McCarron, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2025
Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Feb. 2021
To boost that percentage, France passed an anti-waste bill last year mandating that electronics manufacturers make a repairability index visible on their products.
—Maddie Stone, Wired, 20 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for waste
Noun
The town council maintained its innocence, however, denying there was any link between the waste materials and the birth defects and refuting claims of negligence during the reclamation project.
—Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 28 Feb. 2025
There are no proposals that have been released that actually are targeting cutting waste.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2025
Verb
Washington state has wasted little time in going to court to try to block President Trump's second-term policy agenda.
—Melissa Santos, Axios, 18 Feb. 2025
Read: Stop wasting your fridge space Such misconceptions about frozen food have been debunked in recent years.
—Meghan McCarron, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
The new anti-waste law aims to encourage buyers to repair their devices rather than replace them with new products.
—Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Feb. 2021
To boost that percentage, France passed an anti-waste bill last year mandating that electronics manufacturers make a repairability index visible on their products.
—Maddie Stone, Wired, 20 Feb. 2021
See All Example Sentences for waste
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waste
Noun
-
Crews wearing hazmat suits shoveled mounds of ash into plastic garbage bags.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2025
-
Hegseth calls new names 'garbage' Hegseth already signaled his intention to revert the original, Confederate names of two bases.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA TODAY,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Finding new plants in the desert is yet another uncommon feat, with the wooly devil only thriving in scarce locations alongside drought-tolerant shrubs like ocotillo, hedgehog cactus, and creosote.—
Lauren Thomann,
Better Homes & Gardens,
21 Feb. 2025
-
Spring Training Highlights to Watch For Aside from the usual tune-up games, the Cubs' Spring Training schedule features some must-watch matchups: Cubs vs. White Sox Showdowns - The crosstown rivalry is alive, even in the desert.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Here’s some of what the inspector found: About nine pieces of rodent dung in the lobby behind the drink station counter.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
28 Jan. 2025
-
Hundreds of barefoot pilgrims undertook a parikrama one morning, picking around heaps of cow dung dotting the road.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
5 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump is calling for the expansion of crisis intervention programs as new data shows police killings hit a record high in 2024 — despite a national decline in violent crime.—
Delano Massey,
Axios,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Mining and refining minerals is highly energy-intensive, meaning that any expansion of production will require massive investments in rebuilding power infrastructure.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Part of the reason is with changing consumer habits and an erosion of brand loyalty, it’s become much harder to reach the sales milestone — let alone to stay there.—
Kathryn Hopkins,
WWD,
21 Feb. 2025
-
Even without that more extreme step, Mr. Alvarez, the former general counsel, warned that the directive, as written, could lead to an erosion of the Fed’s monetary policy independence indirectly.—
Colby Smith,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Edman spent much of the winter seemingly pegged to be the club’s everyday center fielder, with a chance to work into the infield mix occasionally.—
Fabian Ardaya,
The Athletic,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Days can be spent visiting Buddhist temples, swimming beneath waterfalls, and hopping on boats to snorkel around colorful coral reefs.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
2 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Sometimes, one bad person or a few bad people can ruin things for everybody.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
-
However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
In the fourth quarter of 2024, WK Kellogg reported net sales of $640 million, a decrease of 1.7% compared to $651 million in the same period in 2023, impacted by a 5.6% volume decline and a 40 basis point headwind from the weakening Canadian dollar.—
Joe Cornell,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
-
But the Trump administration's new cuts further weaken a banking watchdog that has been sounding the alarm for years about its decreasing ability to prevent future banking crises.—
Maria Aspan,
NPR,
27 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to waste
Cite this Entry
“Waste.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waste. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share