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squander - 6 dictionary results

squan⋅der

  [skwon-der]
Use squander in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly or wastefully (often fol. by away).
2. to scatter.
–noun
3. extravagant or wasteful expenditure.
Origin:
1585–95; orig. uncert.

Related forms:
squan⋅der⋅er, noun
squan⋅der⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. waste, dissipate, lavish. See spend.

Antonyms:
1. save.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To squander
squan·der   (skwŏn'dər)   
tr.v.   squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders
  1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste.
  2. To fail to take advantage of; lose a chance for: squandered an opportunity to go to college.
  3. Obsolete To scatter.
n.  Extravagant expenditure; prodigality.

[Origin unknown.]
squan'der·er n., squan'der·ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Squander

Squan"der\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squandered; p. pr. & vb. n. Squandering.] [Cf. Scot. squatter to splash water about, to scatter, to squander, Prov. E. swatter, Dan. sqvatte, Sw. sqv["a]tta to squirt, sqv["a]ttra to squander, Icel. skvetta to squirt out, to throw out water.]

1. To scatter; to disperse. [Obs.]

Our squandered troops he rallies. --Dryden.

2. To spend lavishly or profusely; to spend prodigally or wastefully; to use without economy or judgment; to dissipate; as, to squander an estate.

The crime of squandering health is equal to the folly. --Rambler.

Syn: To spend; expend; waste; scatter; dissipate.

Squander

Squan"der\, v. i. 1. To spend lavishly; to be wasteful.

They often squandered, but they never gave. --Savage.

2. To wander at random; to scatter. [R.]

The wise man's folly is anatomized Even by squandering glances of the fool. --Shak.

Squander

Squan"der\, n. The act of squandering; waste.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : squander
Italian: dilapidare, sperperare,
German: vergeuden,
Japanese: 浪費する
More Translations »

squander 
1589 (implied in squandering), "to spend recklessly or prodigiously," of unknown origin; Shakespeare used it 1593 in "Merchant of Venice" with a sense of "to be scattered over a wide area." Squander-bug, a British symbol of reckless extravagance and waste during war-time shortages, represented as a devilish insect, was introduced Jan. 1943 by the National Savings Committee. In U.S., Louis Ludlow coined squanderlust (1935) for the tendency of government bureaucracies to spend much money.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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