Waste Roget’s Thesaurus §638 N. consumption, expenditure,
exhaustion,
dispersion,
ebb,
leakage, loss, wear and tear, waste,
prodigality,
misuse, wasting,
rubbish, mountain in labor
V. spend,
expend, use,
consume, swallow up,
exhaust,
impoverish,
spill,
drain, empty,
disperse, cast away, fool away, muddle away, throw away, fling away, fritter away, burn the candle at both ends, waste,
squander, "waste its sweetness on the desert air", cast one's bread upon the waters, cast pearls before swine, employ a steam engine to crack a nut, waste powder and shot, break a butterfly on a wheel, labor in vain, cut blocks with a razor, pour water into a sieve,
leak, run to waste,
ebb, melt away, run dry, dry up
Adj. wasted, at a low ebb, wasteful, penny wise and pound foolish
Phr. magno conatu magnas nugas, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, "idly busy rolls their world away"
V. misuse, misemploy, misapply, misappropriate,
desecrate,
abuse,
profane,
prostitute, waste, overtask, overtax, overwork,
squander, cut blocks with a razor, employ a steam engine to crack a nut, catch at a straw
Adj. misused
Phr. ludere cum sacris, 1, simple voluntary action
