Squander

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈskwɒnd.ə/

Definitions

1. To waste money, resources, or opportunity through irresponsible spending or use without gaining appropriate value in return
2. To frivolously spend or use up money, time, or resources in a wasteful manner that produces little or no worthwhile result
3. To carelessly dissipate valuable assets, opportunities, or advantages through reckless consumption or misuse

Etymology: The verb "squander" first appears in the late 16th century, when it meant to spend recklessly or prodigiously, and also to scatter something over a wide area. That second sense is the clue to its physical roots: the idea of flinging things about loosely came before the idea of flinging money away. Its origin is unknown, and it is probably a blend of "scatter" and "wander", two verbs that fit the sense of something spreading out without direction. Scandinavian languages offer a closer family resemblance. Danish "skvætte" and "skvatte", Icelandic "skvetta", and Swedish "skvätta" all mean "to splash" or "to squirt", and Norwegian Bokmål has "skvette". Whether English "squander" is connected to this group remains uncertain, but the shared sense of liquid flying in all directions is suggestive.

Synonyms: waste, dissipate, fritter away

Antonyms: save, conserve, hoard