"waste" | Definition and Related Words

waste

Noun

Any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted (synset 114880414)
"they collect the waste once a week"; "much of the waste material is carried off in the sewers"

is a type of: material, stuff - the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object
subtypes:
- dross, impurity - worthless or dangerous material that should be removed
- exhaust, exhaust fumes, fumes - gases ejected from an engine as waste products
- body waste, excrement, excreta, excretion, excretory product - waste matter (as urine or sweat but especially feces) discharged from the body
- crud, filth, skank - any substance considered disgustingly foul or unpleasant
- sewage, sewerage - waste matter carried away in sewers or drains
- effluent, sewer water, wastewater - water mixed with waste matter
- food waste, garbage, refuse, scraps - food that is discarded (as from a kitchen)
- pollutant - waste matter that contaminates the water or air or soil
- rubbish, scrap, trash - worthless material that is to be disposed of
- slop - (usually plural) waste water from a kitchen or bathroom or chamber pot that has to be emptied by hand
- toxic industrial waste, toxic waste - poisonous waste materials; can cause injury (especially by chemical means)
same as: waste material, waste matter, waste product
Useless or profitless activity;
Using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly (synset 100743943)
"if the effort brings no compensating gain it is a waste"; "mindless dissipation of natural resources"

is a type of: activity - any specific behavior
subtypes:
- 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
same as: dissipation, wastefulness
The trait of wasting resources (synset 104902159)
"a life characterized by thriftlessness and waste"; "the wastefulness of missed opportunities"

is a type of: improvidence, shortsightedness - a lack of prudence and care by someone in the management of resources

same as: thriftlessness, wastefulness
An uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation (synset 108521615)
"the barrens of central Africa"; "the trackless wastes of the desert"

is a type of: wild, wilderness - a wild and uninhabited area left in its natural condition

subtypes: heath, heathland - a tract of level wasteland; uncultivated land with sandy soil and scrubby vegetation

same as: barren, wasteland
(law) reduction in the value of an estate caused by act or neglect (synset 101254711)
referred to in: jurisprudence, law - the collection of rules imposed by authority

is a type of: act, deed, human action, human activity - something that people do or cause to happen

same as: permissive waste

Adjective

Located in a dismal or remote area;
Desolate (synset 301245976)
"a desert island"; "a godforsaken wilderness crossroads"; "a wild stretch of land"; "waste places"

similar to: inhospitable - unfavorable to life or growth

same as: godforsaken, wild

Verb

Spend thoughtlessly;
Throw away (synset 202273196)
"He wasted his inheritance on his insincere friends"; "You squandered the opportunity to get and advanced degree"

is a type of: expend, use - use up, consume fully

subtypes: burn - spend (significant amounts of money)

same as: blow, squander

verb group: blow - spend lavishly or wastefully on
Use inefficiently or inappropriately (synset 201163403)
"waste heat"; "waste a joke on an unappreciative audience"

is a type of: apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize - put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose
Get rid of (synset 202228261)
"We waste the dirty water by channeling it into the sewer"

is a type of: 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
Run off as waste (synset 202071817)
"The water wastes back into the ocean"

is a type of: course, feed, flow, run - move along, of liquids

same as: run off
Get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing (synset 201329983)
"The mafia liquidated the informer"; "the double agent was neutralized"

is a type of: kill - cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly

same as: do in, knock off, liquidate, neutralise, neutralize
Spend extravagantly (synset 201160479)
"waste not, want not"

is a type of: drop, expend, spend - pay out
subtypes:
- 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
same as: consume, squander, ware
Lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief (synset 200390663)
"After her husband died, she just pined away"

is a type of: weaken - become weaker

same as: languish, pine away
Cause to grow thin or weak (synset 200390077)
"The treatment emaciated him"

causes: emaciate - grow weak and thin or waste away physically

is a type of: debilitate, drain, enfeeble - make weak

same as: emaciate, macerate
Cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly (synset 200389306)
"The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion"

is a type of: destroy, ruin - destroy completely; damage irreparably

subtypes: ruin - reduce to ruins

same as: desolate, devastate, lay waste to, ravage, scourge
Become physically weaker (synset 200093529)
"Political prisoners are wasting away in many prisons all over the world"

is a type of: degenerate, deteriorate, devolve, drop - grow worse

subtypes: gangrene, mortify, necrose, sphacelate - undergo necrosis

same as: rot

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