I. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from present participle of wasten to waste
1. : serving or acting to lay waste : devastating
see the cities and the towns defaced by wasting ruin — Shakespeare
2. : undergoing gradual loss, diminution, or decay
a wasting fortune
a wasting muscle
sands and clays brought from the wasting Andes by the great rivers — P.E.James
3. : causing decay or loss of strength
hectic elements producing wasting fevers in the blood of society — Times Literary Supplement
• wast·ing·ly adverb
• wast·ing·ness noun -es
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from gerund of wasten to waste
1. archaic : the act or action of devastating : desolation
violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders — Isa 60:18 (Authorized Version)
2. : wasteful use or expenditure
the wasting of money
3.
a. : the process or condition of wasting away : gradual loss of strength or substance : atrophy
results in sores, wasting and eventually death — J.F.M.Middleton
b.
(1) : gradual consumption or wearing away
mingles Grecian grandeur with the rude wasting of old time — John Keats
(2) : mass-wasting
c. : the process of exercising or training to lose weight