frittering

Slowly draining resources

Frittering appears almost exclusively in the phrase fritter away, meaning to waste something gradually through small, careless expenditures—typically time or money: He frittered away his inheritance on gambling.

The waste is piecemeal rather than sudden, suggesting death by a thousand cuts rather than one catastrophic loss.

idling

dawdling

Leisurely time-wasting

time-wastingUnproductive use of hours
putteringUnhurried aimless activity
ditheringProlonged indecisive hesitation

dallying · loafing · lollygagging · trifling · fiddling · messing around · goofing off · killing time · wasting time · procrastinating

wasting

squandering

Reckless depletion of resources

wastingUsing poorly, inefficiently
dissipatingScattering and fading out
depletingProgressively using up

spending · misusing · draining · exhausting · consuming · expending · throwing away · blowing · losing · eroding

Categories

excessexcess, too much, excessive, excessiveness, overabundance
wastefulnesswaste, squandering, extravagance, profligacy, dissipation
wastingsquandering, splurging, overspending, misusing, depleting
dawdlingdawdling, dallying, dilly-dallying, lingering, loitering
depletingusing up, depleting, exhausting, draining, consuming

Opposites

resource management

fritteringsaving

Reserving for future use

conserving · investing · preserving · hoarding · stockpiling

purposefulness of action

fritteringmaximizing

Increasing to fullest extent

utilizing · focusing · dedicating · devoting · concentrating

Phrases

frittering awayWasting in small amounts

Family

fritter, fritters, fritter away, frittered

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G