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

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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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wastrel
Noun
  • Finally, the claimant failed to prove that the spendthrift provision in the trust, which is critical to the protection the trust provided, should be invalidated.
    Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
  • That is often viewed by us profligate, protein-burning, fat-loving energy spendthrifts as an inferior form of metabolism.
    Stephen S. Hall, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Secrets are revealed, prodigals return, intolerances surface and family bonds are tested.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 17 Apr. 2025
  • The food today is extraordinarily good and prodigal.
    Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Who is a time waster and who is your next biggest client?
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
  • For example, default settings for focus time added blocking of sites in the categories Shopping, Tabloids, and Time wasters.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 13 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Wastrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wastrel. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.

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