Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

squander

/ˈskwɑn.dɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.74 in modern English

Syllables: squan-der
IPA: /ˈskwɑn.dɚ/

18

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To waste, lavish, splurge; to spend lavishly or profusely; to dissipate.

Transitive verb

verb

To scatter; to disperse.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

verb

To wander at random; to scatter.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"."
"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of."
"I have squandered money enormously.... I ought to have saved, but saving is not easy in such a whirl of excitement as that in which I have lived."
"Don't squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar."
"As the game opened up, Bolton squandered a fine opportunity to equalise - Chris Eagles shooting straight at Szczesny - but then back came Arsenal."
"[…]our ſquander’d Troops he rallies:[…]"

Etymology

Earliest uses (late 16th c.) "to spend recklessly or prodigiously", also "to scatter over a wide area". Of unknown origin. Perhaps a blend of scatter + wander. Compare Danish skvætte (rare)/skvatte (“to splash”) (nominalised: skvæt), Icelandic skvetta (“to squirt”), Swedish skvätta (“to splash”), Norwegian Bokmål skvette.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈskwɑn.dɚ/
British English: /ˈskwɒnd.ə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

squanders (present, singular) squandering (participle, present) squandered (participle, past) squandered (past)

Derived Forms

squanderable squanderation squanderer Squandergate squanderingly squanderlust squandermania squandersome unsquandered

Synonyms

waste lavish splurge slather throw away make ducks and drakes of play ducks and drakes with blow

Antonyms

conserve hoard save

Rhymes With

wander ponder transponder alexandre yonder condor responder fonder blonder conder gonder mondor

Questions

How do you pronounce squander?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈskwɑn.dɚ/.
What does squander mean?: To waste, lavish, splurge; to spend lavishly or profusely; to dissipate.
Where does squander come from?: Earliest uses (late 16th c.) "to spend recklessly or prodigiously", also "to scatter over a wide area". Of unknown origin. Perhaps a blend of scatter + wander. Compare Danish skvætte (rare)/skvatte (“to splash”) (nominalised: skvæt), Icelandic skvetta (“to squirt”), Swedish skvätta (“to splash”), Norwegian Bokmål skvette.

How to pronounce squander

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “squander”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈskwɑn.dɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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