as in spendthrift
someone who spends money freely or foolishly
the black sheep of the family, he ended up being a wastrel and a drunkard
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wastrel
The aforementioned wastrel friend, now a drug dealer, asks Mike to do him a favor: Deliver a briefcase of pot to a hotel room.
—
Time, 11 Aug. 2023
The always-entertaining Bruce Turk steals all his scenes as Ranevskaya’s spoiled and wastrel brother, Leonid Gayev.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2023
Selby is a wastrel with a criminal past, yet his mother keeps providing him with soft places to fall.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2023
Even in 1997, everyone looks pretty good for a bunch of wastrel rockers, whose intersecting trajectories are spun through the early chapters.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for wastrel
Time, 11 Aug. 2023
The always-entertaining Bruce Turk steals all his scenes as Ranevskaya’s spoiled and wastrel brother, Leonid Gayev.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2023
Selby is a wastrel with a criminal past, yet his mother keeps providing him with soft places to fall.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2023
Even in 1997, everyone looks pretty good for a bunch of wastrel rockers, whose intersecting trajectories are spun through the early chapters.
—John Anderson, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for wastrel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wastrel
Noun
-
Most states allow spendthrift trusts, but some limit the amount of principal that can be protected.—
Bob Carlson,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
-
The Bucs came through three spendthrift seasons with Tom Brady, winning Super Bowl 55 then trying to defend that title, which proved unsuccessful.—
Rick Stroud,
Orlando Sentinel,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Jérémie stays on as a guest of the baker’s widow (Catherine Frot), but her son (Jean-Baptiste Durand) resents the prodigal’s return.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Instead, all the adulation is directed toward Charlotte’s prodigal adopted son, the guy who holds more than his share of team records and is considered by many to be the best player in franchise history.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
For example, default settings for focus time added blocking of sites in the categories Shopping, Tabloids, and Time wasters.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
13 Jan. 2025
-
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens Above the bedroom is a double-height library, which turns the sloping ceiling behind a mansard roof into a design feature rather than a space waster.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
24 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Wastrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wastrel. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share