squandered
Threw away recklessly
Squandered is the past tense of squander, meaning to waste something valuable through careless or foolish use.
Money, time, opportunities, and talent are commonly squandered: He squandered his inheritance on bad investments.
The word carries moral weight—what's squandered could have been put to good use but wasn't.
Used without good result
- fritteredWasted in small amounts
- dissipatedDispersed or morally loose
- misusedApplied incorrectly
- blownMoved by air
misallocated · mismanaged · misapplied · depleted · lavished · unproductive · inefficient · unwise
Lost through violation
- sacrificedGave up something valued
- lostUnable to navigate
- ruinedDamaged beyond recovery
- depletedSeverely reduced or emptied
dissipation · deficit · shortfall · setback · failure · collapse · debacle · missed opportunity
Lacking careful forethought
- irresponsibleLacking sense of duty
- heedlessCareless of consequences
- rashHeedless or skin irritation
- carelessInattentive, prone to mistakes
thoughtless · foolhardy · recklessly · negligent · improvident · profligate · prodigal · indiscreet
With excessive generosity
- excessivelyBeyond proper measure
- profligatelyWith reckless extravagance
- wastefullyWith unnecessary excess
- ostentatiouslyIn a showy manner
immoderately · overindulgent · self-indulgent · decadently · sumptuously · opulently · extravagantly · splurged
wasted
Used without good result
- fritteredWasted in small amounts
- dissipatedDispersed or morally loose
- misusedApplied incorrectly
blown · misallocated · mismanaged · misapplied · depleted · lavished · unproductive · inefficient · unwise · thoughtless
forfeited
Lost through violation
- sacrificedGave up something valued
- lostUnable to navigate
- ruinedDamaged beyond recovery
depleted · dissipation · deficit · shortfall · setback · failure · collapse · debacle · missed opportunity · gone
imprudent
Lacking careful forethought
- irresponsibleLacking sense of duty
- heedlessCareless of consequences
- rashHeedless or skin irritation
careless · thoughtless · foolhardy · recklessly · negligent · improvident · profligate · prodigal · indiscreet · shortsighted
lavishly
With excessive generosity
- excessivelyBeyond proper measure
- profligatelyWith reckless extravagance
- wastefullyWith unnecessary excess
ostentatiously · immoderately · overindulgent · self-indulgent · decadently · sumptuously · opulently · extravagantly · splurged · overboard
- regretswhat if, hindsight, second thoughts, wrong choice, let slip
- outcomesoutcome, win, effect, impact, success
- botchedbotched, bungled, messed up, screwed up, fouled up
- lostlost, missing, mislaid, misplaced, gone
- ruinedruined, destroyed, wrecked, demolished, obliterated
squanderedsaved
Kept from loss
conserved · preserved · hoarded · safeguarded · husbanded
- inheritance squanderedInherited wealth wasted
squander, squandering, squanders, squanderer, squanderings, squanderers