Wastefully

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˈweɪstfəli/

Definitions

1. In a way that leads to the needless expenditure of resources or chances
2. In a fashion that reflects a careless disregard for efficiency, often leading to unnecessary losses or depletion
3. In a way that causes resources to be used in excess without good reason

Etymology: "Wastefully" is an adverb built from "wasteful" and the suffix "-ly," the common English ending that turns an adjective into a description of manner. The adjective "wasteful" is itself formed from "waste" plus the suffix "-ful," which means "full of" or "characterised by," so "wasteful" originally meant full of waste or tending to waste. The adverb follows the same pattern, describing an action done in that way. The base word "waste" came into English through Old French from Latin "vastus," meaning empty, desolate or immense. That original sense of emptiness or desolation survives in the older idea of a "waste" as an uncultivated, barren tract of land, and the modern sense of squandering developed from the notion of something being emptied out or lost without purpose.

Synonyms: extravagantly, recklessly, improvidently, prodigally, lavishly

Antonyms: economically, thriftily, prudently, sustainably, wisely