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wastefully
/ˈweɪst.fəl.i/
in a wasteful manner
He spent his money wastefully on unnecessary luxuries.
He used his money in a way that showed poor judgment and excess.
neutral
in a way that uses more than necessary or fails to use resources efficiently
The company wastefully disposed of leftover materials instead of recycling them.
The company threw away extra materials without considering reuse.
She wastefully left the lights on all night, wasting electricity.
She failed to turn off lights, resulting in unnecessary energy consumption.
Often used to describe actions that show poor judgment in resource management.
Collocations
spend wastefullyto use money or resources without careconsume wastefullyto use up resources without necessity
Pro Tip
Avoid confusion with 'wasteful'
'Wastefully' is the adverb form of 'wasteful', which describes the act itself. 'Wasteful' is an adjective (e.g., 'a wasteful habit').
Gold Rule
Use 'wastefully' to describe actions
It modifies verbs to show how something is done wastefully (e.g., 'He ate wastefully'). Do not use it to describe people (use 'wasteful' instead, e.g., 'a wasteful person').
Word Origin
From Middle English 'wast' (waste) + '-ful' (full of) + '-ly' (adverbial suffix), first recorded in the 14th century.
Usage Notes
Commonly used in contexts involving money, time, or natural resources. Often implies a moral judgment about poor stewardship.
Word Breakdown
waste
to use more than necessary
root-ful
full of
suffix-ly
in a manner
suffixEnglish Dictionary