waste

modif.

waste

n.

1. The state of being wasted

   disuse, misuse, dissipation, consumption, uselessness, devastation, ruin, decay, dilapidation, loss, exhaustion, extravagance, squandering, wear and tear, wrack and ruin; see also wear.

   Antonyms use*, profit*, value*. *

2. Refuse

   rubbish, garbage, scrap; see excess 4, trash 1, 3.

3. Unused land

   desert, wilds, wilderness, dustbowl, wasteland, tundra, marsh, marshland, badlands, bog, fen, moor, quagmire, swamp, wash.

waste, in this connection, is the general word for any stretch of uncultivable, hence uninhabitable, land; a desert is a barren, arid, usually sandy tract of land; badlands is applied to a barren, hilly waste where rapid erosion has cut the soft rocks into fantastic shapes; wilderness refers to an uninhabited waste where a lack of paths or trails makes it difficult to find one's way, esp. to such a region thickly covered with trees and underbrush

waste

v.

1. To use without result

   dissipate, spend, consume, lose, be of no avail, come to nothing, go to waste, misuse, throw away, use up, misapply, misemploy, labor in vain, cast pearls before swine*, send owls to Athens*, carry coals to Newcastle*.

   Antonyms profit*, use well, get results.

2. To squander

   burn up, lavish, scatter, splurge, spend, be prodigal, indulge, abuse, empty, drain, use up, deplete, fatigue, spill, impoverish, misspend, exhaust, fritter away, fool away, ruin, be spendthrift, divert, go through, gamble away, throw money into a well*, run through*, hang the expense*, scatter to the winds*, blow*, burn the candle at both ends*.

   Antonyms save*, be thrifty, manage wisely.

3. To be consumed gradually

   decay, thin out, become thin, dwindle, lose weight, be diseased, run dry, run to seed, wilt, droop, decrease, disappear, drain, empty, wear.

   Antonyms grow*, develop*, enrich.