Learn Arabic › B2 › مَضِيعَة
مَضِيعَة
a waste (of time, effort, money) /maˈdˤiː.ʕah/
nounB2#3940 most common
Also: squandering, wasted effort, a lost cause
Example sentences
هذا مضيعة للوقت.
This is a waste of time.
الاجتماع كان مضيعة للوقت.
The meeting was a waste of time.
قراءة هذا الكتاب مضيعة للوقت والجهد.
Reading this book is a waste of time and effort.
يعتبر بعض الناس مشاهدة التلفاز طوال اليوم مضيعة للوقت.
Some people consider watching television all day a waste of time.
لا تجعل حياتك مضيعة للفرص الثمينة التي تُتاح لك مرة واحدة.
Do not let your life become a waste of the precious chances that come only once.
كانت تلك الحرب مضيعة للأرواح والموارد، ولم يجنِ أي طرف منها نفعًا حقيقيًا.
That war was a waste of lives and resources, and neither side drew any real benefit from it.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | مَضِيعَةٌ | مَضَايِعُ |
| Genitive | مَضِيعَةٍ | مَضَايِعَ |
| Accusative | مَضِيعَةً | مَضَايِعَ |
| Vocative | يا مَضِيعَةُ | يا مَضَايِعُ |
Word family
ضاعto be lost, to go to waste
يضيعhe is lost, he is wasted (present)
ضائعlost, misplaced
ضياعloss, ruin, waste
أضاعto lose or waste something
Etymology
The word comes from the Arabic root ḍ-y-ʿ (ض ي ع), which carries the sense of being lost, neglected, or squandered. The verb ضاع (ḍāʿa) means to be lost or to go to waste. مضيعة is built on the مَفْعَلَة pattern, a common Arabic template for turning a verb into a noun of place or instance, so the word literally names an occasion or site where something gets lost.
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