Not wasting

July 23, 2006 5:58 PM

What is the opposite of wasting?

I'm interested to know the opposite of the word "wasting". As in "to waste", as one wastes away from a disease or hunger. What is the opposite of that? The process by which one adds strength and fortitude to the body. Ideas? References appreciated, snark ignored.

posted by squirrel to Science & Nature (30 answers total)

Thriving?
Nourishing?
posted by evariste at 6:04 PM on July 23, 2006

subsisting?
posted by null terminated at 6:07 PM on July 23, 2006

Catabolism is the breakdown of molecules into smaller substances, anabolism is the opposite of catabolism (ie building something bigger by adding to something smaller). Cachexia is the wasting away of the body's tissues (weight loss, muscle atrophy etc.) as seen in cancer patients for instance; the opposite of that would be obesity.
posted by Lucas822 at 6:08 PM on July 23, 2006

With a landmass (where wasting is erosion), it would be something like "accreting" or "depositing".

With a body... building, strengthening, enlarging, fortifying. Conditioning? Gaining weight? Adding muscle mass?
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:08 PM on July 23, 2006

Frugality?
posted by wackybrit at 6:16 PM on July 23, 2006

Okay, ditch that, I read the first line and then the rest ;-)
posted by wackybrit at 6:16 PM on July 23, 2006

Fluorishing, or prospering.
posted by jenovus at 6:19 PM on July 23, 2006

*flourish, sorry.
posted by jenovus at 6:20 PM on July 23, 2006

Develop? Embiggen? Flesh out?
posted by MetaMonkey at 6:22 PM on July 23, 2006 [1 favorite]

Well, a synonym for wasting away, would be 'atrophy'...so "hypertrophy" is exactly that; adding beyond the norm, often spoken in regards to muscular mass.
posted by filmgeek at 6:27 PM on July 23, 2006

Amelioration? Build-up?
posted by MetaMonkey at 6:27 PM on July 23, 2006

Ameliorate? Build-up?
posted by MetaMonkey at 6:27 PM on July 23, 2006

[oops]
posted by MetaMonkey at 6:28 PM on July 23, 2006

Waxing? (as in waxing and waning?)
posted by Meep! Eek! at 6:39 PM on July 23, 2006

Battening.
posted by jamjam at 6:40 PM on July 23, 2006

Thesaurus.com gives the following antonyms for the word atrophy (hypertrophy, while correct, is not very conversational): develop, flourish, grow, ripen, strengthen, thrive. I think I like thrive the best.
posted by dammitjim at 6:41 PM on July 23, 2006

Thriving sounds to me like it's the most nearly opposite waste, and you should listen to me, I aced that section on the GRE. ;-)
posted by Mr. Gunn at 6:44 PM on July 23, 2006

Unintentional weight loss, or cachexia, is also known as 'wasting syndrome' and 'failure to thrive,' so I'd go with thrive, too.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:53 PM on July 23, 2006

Thrive is also the term they use for babies and livestock to mean the oppostie of waste.
posted by fshgrl at 6:53 PM on July 23, 2006

Since your example specifically related to body mass, thriving and anabolism seem most apposite. Another possibility is bulking.
posted by rob511 at 7:11 PM on July 23, 2006

I've seen "thrift" used as the antonym noun to "wasting" in writing about livestock and husbandry. In fact something is popping "lack of thrift" or "bad thrift" into my mind.

So yeah, another vote for "to thrive" and related words.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 7:18 PM on July 23, 2006

Conserving?

If you are not wasting away, it does not imply that you are (necessarily) improving either. You could just be remaining neutral.
posted by lundman at 7:23 PM on July 23, 2006

Response by poster: Great approaches so far. Thank you. I'm glad I'm not the only word geek.
posted by squirrel at 7:32 PM on July 23, 2006

Response by poster: BTW, battening sounds very good.
posted by squirrel at 7:35 PM on July 23, 2006

Conserving or saving seem best to me.
posted by jdroth at 8:33 PM on July 23, 2006

If you are not wasting away, it does not imply that you are (necessarily) improving either. You could just be remaining neutral.

Yeah, but the question is asking for the opposite of wasting away, not just something that doesn't mean wasting away. Growing is more opposite wasting than remaining neutral is.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:11 PM on July 23, 2006

Response by poster: I think ludwig_van is right.
posted by squirrel at 9:55 PM on July 23, 2006

Thrive is the best answer. Wasting implies not just a decrease in size or number (i.e. shrinking, the opposite of growing) but some loss in quality as well and a sort of permanent loss at that. Thriving implies not just gain, but useful permanent gain.
posted by fleacircus at 12:49 AM on July 24, 2006

I second embiggening.
posted by electroboy at 6:36 AM on July 24, 2006

Response by poster: One word I haven't seen here is "weal". Aside from that, I'm with the several who like the common "thrive" and also like "batten" despite it's extra connotations. Thanks, everyone!
posted by squirrel at 7:12 AM on July 24, 2006