Definition
暴殄天物 is a four-character idiom (chengyu) meaning to recklessly waste or squander precious resources. The literal breakdown is 暴 'destroy', 殄 'exhaust', 天物 'natural resources' — so 'destroying and exhausting nature's gifts'. It's used to criticize wasteful behavior, especially with food, money, or talent.
f.e.
to recklessly waste precious resourcesto squander something valuable
Examples
- ,暴殄天物。Zhème duō shíwù dōu rēng diào le, zhēn shì bào.Throwing away so much food is truly a reckless waste.
- ,暴殄天物。Tā huā dà jiàqián mǎi lái què bú yòng, jiǎnzhí shì bào.He spent a lot of money to buy it but doesn't use it — it's simply squandering.
- ,暴殄天物。Gōngsī bǎ zhème yōuxiù de réncái xiánzhì bú yòng, wúyì yú bào.The company leaves such excellent talent idle — it's no different from wasting precious resources.
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