wasteful
Using more of something than you need, so some of it is thrown away or lost.
wasteful in a sentence
- Leaving all the lights on in an empty house is very wasteful.
- It is wasteful to throw away food that you could save for tomorrow's lunch.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to wasteful?
- Aextravagant
- Bsparing
- Ccareful
Show the answer
A: extravagant. The other three mean the opposite of wasteful.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to wasteful?
- Acareful
- Bextravagant
- Cuneconomical
Show the answer
A: careful. The other three mean nearly the same as wasteful.
Words that mean something similar
extravagant, uneconomical
Words that mean the opposite
careful, sparing
More words about behaviour & manners
- wayward: Behaving badly and hard to control.
- wholesome: Good for you and healthy.
- yield: To give in and stop fighting, or to produce something like crops.
- adhere: To stick firmly to something, or to follow a rule closely.
- admirable: So good that people look up to it and praise it.
- aggravate: To make a problem worse, or to really annoy someone.
- appease: To calm someone down by giving them what they want.
- assiduous: Working with great care, effort and determination.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test