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wastrel

 - 3 dictionary results

wast⋅rel

  [wey-struhl]
Use wastrel in a Sentence
–noun
1. a wasteful person; spendthrift.
2. Chiefly British.
a. refuse; waste.
b. a waif; abandoned child.
c. an idler or good-for-nothing.
Origin:
1580–90; waste + -rel
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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wast·rel   (wā'strəl)   
n.  

  1. One who wastes, especially one who wastes money; a profligate.

  2. An idler or a loafer.


[wast(e) + -rel (as in scoundrel).]
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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Word Origin & History

wastrel 
"spendthrift, idler," 1847, from waste (v.) with pejorative suffix (cf. mongrel, scoundrel, doggerel).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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