to fool away
- phrasal verb
- /fuːl əˈweɪ/
:
malgastar
- Don't fool away your time when you should be studying for exams.
Examples
-
He managed to fool away his entire savings on unnecessary gadgets.
-
She fools away her weekends watching TV.
-
She regretted having fooled away her inheritance on lavish parties.
-
Don't fool away your time!
-
Don't fool away your time when you should be studying for exams.
-
He managed to fool away his entire savings on unnecessary gadgets.
-
She regretted having fooled away her inheritance on lavish parties.
Synonyms
265
5.3
To waste a lot of money on things you do not need
67
6.5
To use money, time, or chances in a foolish way
52
8.6
To spend money quickly on things you do not need
8
9.5
To waste time or money by being careless
4
6.0
Waste time or money on small unimportant things
4
3.5
Spend money on things you do not need
4
6.8
To waste small amounts of time, money, or energy little by little
3
7.0
To use money or energy in a foolish, wasteful way
1
6.5
To spend time or money in a wasteful way
1
6.9
To spend saved money quickly on things you do not need
To waste time, money, or chances on things that do not matter
To spend money carelessly and waste it
To waste money or other things by being careless
Antonyms
How Wasteful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'fool' in the sense of wasting/frittering combined with the particle 'away' (which signals dispersal or continued action) yields a directly compositional meaning of wasting or squandering time/money. This verb+away pattern is a regular, cross-linguistically common way to express dissipating resources, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Fool away comes from the simple picture of someone acting like a fool and letting things drift away—hours, money, or chances slip from them because of silly choices. So it means 'to waste' time, money, or opportunities by careless or foolish behavior.