from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
wastefulness
n 1: the trait of wasting resources; "a life characterized by
thriftlessness and waste"; "the wastefulness of missed
opportunities" [syn: {thriftlessness}, {waste},
{wastefulness}]
2: 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" [syn: {waste}, {wastefulness},
{dissipation}]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Wasteful \Waste"ful\, a.
1. Full of waste; destructive to property; ruinous; as,
wasteful practices or negligence; wasteful expenses.
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2. Expending, or tending to expend, property, or that which
is valuable, in a needless or useless manner; lavish;
prodigal; as, a wasteful person; a wasteful disposition.
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3. Waste; desolate; unoccupied; untilled. [Obs.]
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In wilderness and wasteful desert strayed.
--Spenser.
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Syn: Lavish; profuse; prodigal; extravagant.
[1913 Webster] -- {Waste"ful*ly}, adv. --
{Waste"ful*ness}, n.
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