wastefulness
/'weistfulnis/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. The quality or fact of using something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose: The act or habit of expending resources (such as money, time, materials, or energy) in a thoughtless, unnecessary, or inefficient manner, resulting in loss or lack of gain. 2. The trait of being wasteful; prodigality: A characteristic of a person, organization, or process that involves excessive or negligent consumption and a disregard for conservation.
Usage
- Wastefulness is an uncountable noun describing a general quality or habit.
- It is often used to criticize actions, systems, or behaviors that are inefficient or extravagant.
- It can be modified by adjectives like , , , or .
- Common collocations include: , , , .
Examples
- The wastefulness of the packaging industry is a major environmental concern.
- His wastefulness with the company budget eventually led to his dismissal.
- The report criticized the project for its wastefulness of both time and public funds.
- We must reduce wastefulness in our daily consumption of water and electricity.
Advanced Usage
- "The wastefulness of [something]": A common construction used to highlight that a particular thing, action, or situation is characterized by waste.
- The wastefulness of discarding perfectly good food is morally troubling.
- In economic or environmental discourse, wastefulness is often discussed in contrast to efficiency or sustainability.
Variants and Related Words
- Wasteful (adjective): Characterized by or given to wastefulness.
- a wasteful process; wasteful habits
- Waste (noun/verb): The act or instance of wasting, or the unused materials themselves.
- a waste of time; to waste an opportunity
- Waster (noun, informal): A person who wastes things.
Synonyms
- Prodigality: Extravagant wastefulness.
- Improvidence: Lack of foresight or care for the future, leading to waste.
- Extravagance: Excessive or unnecessary expenditure.
- Dissipation: Wasteful expenditure or dispersion of resources.
- Squandering: Spending or using wastefully or extravagantly.
Antonyms
- Thrift: Careful management of money and resources; avoidance of waste.
- Frugality: The quality of being economical with resources.
- Economy: Efficient and careful use of resources to avoid waste.
- Conservation: The careful preservation and protection of resources to prevent waste.
Idioms and Phrases
- A monument to wastefulness: Used to describe something that serves as a prime example of being wasteful.
- The abandoned, half-built stadium stands as a monument to governmental wastefulness.
- Waste not, want not: (Proverb) If you do not waste anything, you will always have enough. This is the philosophical opposite of wastefulness.
Noun
- useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly
- if the effort brings no compensating gain it is a waste
- mindless dissipation of natural resources
- the trait of wasting resources
- a life characterized by thriftlessness and waste
- the wastefulness of missed opportunities