A life misspent

Question

If I want to express that (he) has misspent his youth, fortune, or opportunity , I find four verbs that could be used.

"malograr"

"malgastar"

"desperdiciar"

desaprovechar"

Which would be the most appropriate, and most commoly used.

Answer 1

I like Lorenzo's answer. As an alternative, my favorite would be "desperdiciar", followed by "malgastar" as a distant third.

I like desperdiciar too. - lorenzo9, Jan 31, 2011

Answer 2

una juventud disipada

Thinking outside the box. - 0074b507, Jan 31, 2011

I have my own legacy of my misspent youth. :red: - lorenzo9, Jan 31, 2011

Hum,I was not expecting "disipada" somehow lorenzo, - pacofinkler, Jan 31, 2011

Answer 3

I like a different verb for this: derrochar

That's a good one too. Funny how many words we have in Spanish for "wasting"; huh? - Gekkosan, Jan 31, 2011

Another unexpected alternative,thanks! - pacofinkler, Jan 31, 2011

And then there's dilapidar, despilfarrar, malbaratar. . .lot's of squandering going on ;) - lorenzo9, Feb 1, 2011

Answer 4

I check the RAE to see what it had to say about each of the four choices and, unlike, the usage of the English cognates, they seem to be largely free of the moralizing condemnation of "dissipate". That is to say, they all suggest an unprofitable/wasteful consumption of resources but do not condemn the intent (they only suggest that the desired results were not achieved [closest to the English "wasted effort"]). "dissipate", on the other hand, usually implies the squandering of resources on an unworthy goal (historically the term was more morally neutral, much like the Spanish terms).

Samdie,seems like you are leaning toward Gekkosan? - pacofinkler, Jan 31, 2011