---
title: squander — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «squander» in the school dictionary: To squander something is to waste it foolishly, especially money, time or a chance. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# squander

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** He, you, team, She, her, younger son · **What happens:** squander, be, not use, not squander, win, chance · **To what, where:** something, chance, talent, pocket money, sweets, goal lead

<!-- .vabout -->
«squander» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [squander in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/squander.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To squander something is to waste it foolishly, especially money, time or a chance.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:m1:1
# text = To squander something is to waste it foolishly, especially money, time or a chance.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	squander	squander	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	waste	waste	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	foolishly	foolishly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	_
14	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	chance	chance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **squander** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Asset |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | foolishly, waste *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To squander a chance or talent is to fail to use it well.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:m2:1
# text = To squander a chance or talent is to fail to use it well.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	squander	squander	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	chance	chance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	talent	talent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	fail	fail	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	use	use	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **squander** | to-infinitive |  | a chance or talent |  |  |  |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chance=Asset |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | fail *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **use** | to-infinitive |  | talent |  |  |  | well *property* | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He squandered all his pocket money on sweets.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:x1:1
# text = He squandered all his pocket money on sweets.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	squandered	squander	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	6	det:predet	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	pocket	pocket	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	sweets	sweet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **squander** | past | He | his pocket money |  |  |  | on sweets *goal* | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent money=Asset on sweet=Goal |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't squander your time on silly games.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:x2:1
# text = Don't squander your time on silly games.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	squander	squander	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	silly	silly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	games	game	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **squander** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* |  |  |  | time |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The team squandered a three-goal lead.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:x3:1
# text = The team squandered a three-goal lead.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	squandered	squander	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	goal	goal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	lead	lead	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **squander** | past | the team | a goal lead |  |  |  |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent lead=Asset |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She squandered her chance to win.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:x4:1
# text = She squandered her chance to win.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	squandered	squander	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	chance	chance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	win	win	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **squander** | past | She | her chance |  |  |  |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chance=Asset |
| 2 | **win** | to-infinitive | She *not said here* | her chance *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **chance** |  | her *= she* |  |  |  |  |  | nom chance «state intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the Bible story, the younger son squandered his father's money.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:x5:1
# text = In the Bible story, the younger son squandered his father's money.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	younger	young	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	8	amod	_	_
8	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	squandered	squander	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	father	father	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	's	PART	POS	_	11	case	_	_
13	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **squander** | past | the younger son | son's father's money |  | the Bible story |  |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Asset |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It's a pity to squander such talent.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:x6:1
# text = It's a pity to squander such talent.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	squander	squander	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	_
7	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	talent	talent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a pity |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **squander** | to-infinitive |  | such talent |  |  |  |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent talent=Asset |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They squandered the water during the drought.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:x7:1
# text = They squandered the water during the drought.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	squandered	squander	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	during	during	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	drought	drought	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **squander** | past | They | the water |  |  | during the drought |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Asset |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The two eldest of these lived in rioting and feasting, and thus wasted and squandered their father’s wealth till nothing remained, and they found themselves in want and misery.

<!-- fold The tree, 30 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:squander:x8:1
# text = The two eldest of these lived in rioting and feasting, and thus wasted and squandered their father’s wealth till nothing remained, and they found themselves in want and misery.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nsubj	_	_
3	eldest	eld	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	6	nsubj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	these	this	PRON	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	3	nmod	_	_
6	lived	live	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	rioting	rioting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	feasting	feasting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	thus	thus	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	wasted	waste	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	squandered	squander	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	conj	_	_
17	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	father	father	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	’s	's	PART	POS	_	18	case	_	_
20	wealth	wealth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	_
21	till	till	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	16	obl	_	_
23	remained	remain	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	22	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
26	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	27	nsubj	_	_
27	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	conj	_	_
28	themselves	themselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	27	obj	_	_
29	in	in	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
30	want	want	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	obl	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	32	cc	_	_
32	misery	misery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	30	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | participle | the eldest of these |  |  | rioting and feasting |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in rioting=Location |
| 2 | **waste** | past |  |  |  |  |  | thus *property* | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **squander** | past |  | rioting's father's wealth |  |  | till nothing |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wealth=Asset |
| 4 | **remain** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **find** | past | rioting | rioting |  | want and misery |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent themselves=Topic |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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