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WASTE
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly
Example:
mindless dissipation of natural resources
Synonyms:
dissipation; waste; wastefulness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("waste" is a kind of...):
activity (any specific behavior)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "waste"):
boondoggle (work of little or no value done merely to look busy)
waste of effort; waste of energy (a useless effort)
waste of material (a useless consumption of material)
waste of money (money spent for inadequate return)
waste of time (the devotion of time to a useless activity)
extravagance; high life; highlife; lavishness; prodigality (excessive spending)
squandering (spending resources lavishly and wastefully)
Derivation:
waste (spend extravagantly)
waste (use inefficiently or inappropriately)
waste (spend thoughtlessly; throw away)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(law) reduction in the value of an estate caused by act or neglect
Synonyms:
permissive waste; waste
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("waste" is a kind of...):
act; deed; human action; human activity (something that people do or cause to happen)
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The trait of wasting resources
Example:
the wastefulness of missed opportunities
Synonyms:
thriftlessness; waste; wastefulness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("waste" is a kind of...):
improvidence; shortsightedness (a lack of prudence and care by someone in the management of resources)
Derivation:
waste (use inefficiently or inappropriately)
waste (spend thoughtlessly; throw away)
Sense 4
Meaning:
An uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation
Example:
the trackless wastes of the desert
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("waste" is a kind of...):
wild; wilderness (a wild and uninhabited area left in its natural condition)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "waste"):
heath; heathland (a tract of level wasteland; uncultivated land with sandy soil and scrubby vegetation)
Derivation:
waste (located in a dismal or remote area; desolate)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
Example:
much of the waste material is carried off in the sewers
Synonyms:
waste; waste material; waste matter; waste product
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("waste" is a kind of...):
material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "waste"):
toxic industrial waste; toxic waste (poisonous waste materials; can cause injury (especially by chemical means))
slop ((usually plural) waste water from a kitchen or bathroom or chamber pot that has to be emptied by hand)
rubbish; scrap; trash (worthless material that is to be disposed of)
pollutant (waste matter that contaminates the water or air or soil)
food waste; garbage; refuse; scraps (food that is discarded (as from a kitchen))
effluent; sewer water; wastewater (water mixed with waste matter)
sewage; sewerage (waste matter carried away in sewers or drains)
crud; filth; skank (any substance considered disgustingly foul or unpleasant)
body waste; excrement; excreta; excretion; excretory product (waste matter (as urine or sweat but especially feces) discharged from the body)
exhaust; exhaust fumes; fumes (gases ejected from an engine as waste products)
dross; impurity (worthless or dangerous material that should be removed)
Derivation:
waste (run off as waste)
waste (get rid of)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Located in a dismal or remote area; desolate
Example:
waste places
Synonyms:
godforsaken; waste; wild
Classified under:
Similar:
inhospitable (unfavorable to life or growth)
Derivation:
waste (an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation)
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they waste ... he / she / it wastes
Past simple: wasted
Past participle: wasted
-ing form: wasting
Sense 1
Meaning:
Become physically weaker
Example:
Political prisoners are wasting away in many prisons all over the world
Synonyms:
rot; waste
Classified under:
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
degenerate; deteriorate; devolve; drop (grow worse)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "waste"):
gangrene; mortify; necrose; sphacelate (undergo necrosis)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Derivation:
wastage (the process of wasting)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
Example:
The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion
Synonyms:
desolate; devastate; lay waste to; ravage; scourge; waste
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
destroy; ruin (destroy completely; damage irreparably)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "waste"):
ruin (reduce to ruins)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Derivation:
waster (a person who destroys or ruins or lays waste to)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Cause to grow thin or weak
Example:
The treatment emaciated him
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
debilitate; drain; enfeeble (make weak)
Cause:
emaciate (grow weak and thin or waste away physically)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s somebody
Derivation:
wastage (the process of wasting)
wasting (any general reduction in vitality and strength of body and mind resulting from a debilitating chronic disease)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief
Example:
After her husband died, she just pined away
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
weaken (become weaker)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
wastage (the process of wasting)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Spend extravagantly
Example:
waste not, want not
Synonyms:
consume; squander; ware; waste
Classified under:
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "waste"):
drink; tope (drink excessive amounts of alcohol; be an alcoholic)
dissipate; fool; fool away; fritter; fritter away; frivol away; shoot (spend frivolously and unwisely)
luxuriate; wanton (become extravagant; indulge (oneself) luxuriously)
lavish; shower (expend profusely; also used with abstract nouns)
overspend (spend at a high rate)
fling; splurge (indulge oneself)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
waste (useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly)
waster (someone who dissipates resources self-indulgently)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Use inefficiently or inappropriately
Example:
waste a joke on an unappreciative audience
Classified under:
Verbs of eating and drinking
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
apply; employ; use; utilise; utilize (put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Derivation:
waste (useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly)
waste (the trait of wasting resources)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing
Example:
the double agent was neutralized
Synonyms:
do in; knock off; liquidate; neutralise; neutralize; waste
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sentence example:
They want to waste the prisoners
Sense 8
Meaning:
Run off as waste
Example:
The water wastes back into the ocean
Synonyms:
run off; waste
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
course; feed; flow; run (move along, of liquids)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Derivation:
waste (any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Get rid of
Example:
We waste the dirty water by channeling it into the sewer
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
cast aside; cast away; cast out; chuck out; discard; dispose; fling; put away; throw away; throw out; toss; toss away; toss out (throw or cast away)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
waste (any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Spend thoughtlessly; throw away
Example:
You squandered the opportunity to get and advanced degree
Synonyms:
blow; squander; waste
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "waste" is one way to...):
expend; use (use up, consume fully)
Verb group:
blow (spend lavishly or wastefully on)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "waste"):
burn (spend (significant amounts of money))
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Antonym:
conserve (use cautiously and frugally)
Derivation:
waste (useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly)
waste (the trait of wasting resources)
waster (someone who dissipates resources self-indulgently)
Context examples:
Muscle wasting decreases strength and the ability to move.
(Muscle Atrophy, NCI Dictionary)
A type of bacterium found in human and animal waste.
(Clostridium difficile, NCI Dictionary)
Well, that's unfort'nate—appears as if killing parties was a waste of time.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
“That will do; we have no time to waste,” said my companion firmly.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
This damage can cause wastes to build up in your body.
(Chronic Kidney Disease, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
It is a waste product made by the body.
(Carbon dioxide, NCI Dictionary)
Why should he waste any time with this man he did not like? was his thought.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
"I have wasted the charm of the Golden Cap to no purpose," she said, "for the Winged Monkeys cannot help me."
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
It moves cerebrospinal fluid, a clear liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, quickly and deeply thoughout the brain, removing waste.
(Lymphatic Vessels Discovered in Central Nervous System, NIH)
