Adjacent Words

Wild definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WILD, a. [G.]
1. Roving; wandering; inhabiting the forest or open field; hence, not tamed or domesticated; as a wild boar; a wild ox; a wild cat; a wild bee.
2. Growing without culture; as wild parsnep; wild cherry; wild tansy. Wild rice, a palatable and nutritious food, grows spontaneously in the lakes and ponds of the North West territory.
3. Desert; not inhabited; as a wild forest.
4. Savage; uncivilized; not refined by culture; as the wild natives of Africa or America.
5. Turbulent; tempestuous; irregular; as a wild tumult.
The wild winds howl.
6. Licentious; ungoverned; as wild passions.
Valor grown wild by pride--
7. Inconstant; mutable; fickle.
In the ruling passion, there also the wild are constant, and the cunning known.
8. Inordinate; loose.
A fop well dressd, extravagant and wild.
9. Uncouth; loose.
--What are these, so witherd, and so wild in their attire?
10. Irregular; disorderly; done without plan or order; as, to make wild work.
11. Not well digested; not framed according to the ordinary rules of reason; not being within the limits of probable practicability; imaginary; fanciful; as a wild project or scheme; wild speculations.
12. Exposed to the wind and sea; as a wild roadstead.
13. Made or found in the forest; as wild honey.
Wild is prefixed to the names of many plants, to distinguish them from such of the name as are cultivated in gardens, as wild basil, wild parsnep, wild carrot, wild olive, _.
WILD, n. A desert; an uninhabited and uncultivated tract or region; a forest or sandy desert; as the wilds of America; the wilds of Africa; the sandy wilds of Arabia.
Then Libya first, of all her moisture draind, became a barren waste, a wild of sand.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: marked by extreme lack of restraint or control; "wild talk"; "wild parties" [ant: tame]
2: in a natural state; not tamed or domesticated or cultivated; "wild geese"; "edible wild plants" [syn: wild, untamed] [ant: tame, tamed]
3: in a state of extreme emotion; "wild with anger"; "wild with grief"
4: deviating widely from an intended course; "a wild bullet"; "he threw a wild pitch"
5: (of colors or sounds) intensely vivid or loud; "a violent clash of colors"; "her dress was a violent red"; "a violent noise"; "wild colors"; "wild shouts" [syn: violent, wild]
6: without a basis in reason or fact; "baseless gossip"; "the allegations proved groundless"; "idle fears"; "unfounded suspicions"; "unwarranted jealousy" [syn: baseless, groundless, idle, unfounded, unwarranted, wild]
7: talking or behaving irrationally; "a raving lunatic" [syn: raving mad, wild]
8: involving risk or danger; "skydiving is a hazardous sport"; "extremely risky going out in the tide and fog"; "a wild financial scheme" [syn: hazardous, risky, wild]
9: fanciful and unrealistic; foolish; "a fantastic idea of his own importance" [syn: fantastic, wild]
10: located in a dismal or remote area; desolate; "a desert island"; "a godforsaken wilderness crossroads"; "a wild stretch of land"; "waste places" [syn: godforsaken, waste, wild]
11: intensely enthusiastic about or preoccupied with; "crazy about cars and racing"; "he is potty about her" [syn: crazy, wild, dotty, gaga]
12: without civilizing influences; "barbarian invaders"; "barbaric practices"; "a savage people"; "fighting is crude and uncivilized especially if the weapons are efficient"-Margaret Meade; "wild tribes" [syn: barbarian, barbaric, savage, uncivilized, uncivilised, wild]
13: (of the elements) as if showing violent anger; "angry clouds on the horizon"; "furious winds"; "the raging sea" [syn: angry, furious, raging, tempestuous, wild] n
1: a wild primitive state untouched by civilization; "he lived in the wild"; "they collected mushrooms in the wild" [syn: wild, natural state, state of nature]
2: a wild and uninhabited area left in its natural condition; "it was a wilderness preserved for the hawks and mountaineers" [syn: wilderness, wild] adv
1: in an uncontrolled and rampant manner; "weeds grew rampantly around here" [syn: rampantly, wild]
2: in a wild or undomesticated manner; "growing wild"; "roaming wild"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English wilde, from Old English; akin to Old High German wildi wild, Welsh gwyllt Date: before 12th century 1. a. living in a state of nature and not ordinarily tame or domesticated <wild ducks> b. (1) growing or produced without human aid or care <wild honey> (2) related to or resembling a corresponding cultivated or domesticated organism c. of or relating to wild organisms <the wild state> 2. a. not inhabited or cultivated <wild land> b. not amenable to human habitation or cultivation; also desolate 3. a. (1) not subject to restraint or regulation ; uncontrolled; also unruly (2) emotionally overcome <wild with grief>; also passionately eager or enthusiastic <was wild to own a toy train — J. C. Furnas> b. marked by turbulent agitation ; stormy <a wild night> c. going beyond normal or conventional bounds ; fantastic <wild ideas>; also sensational d. indicative of strong passion, desire, or emotion <a wild gleam of delight in his eyes — Irish Digest> 4. uncivilized, barbaric 5. characteristic of, appropriate to, or expressive of wilderness, wildlife, or a simple or uncivilized society 6. a. deviating from the intended or expected course <wild spelling — C. W. Cunnington> <the throw was wild>; also tending to throw inaccurately <a wild pitcher> b. having no basis in known or surmised fact <a wild guess> 7. of a playing card able to represent any card designated by the holder • wildish adjective • wildness noun II. noun Date: 13th century 1. a sparsely inhabited or uncultivated region or tract ; wilderness 2. a wild, free, or natural state or existence III. adverb Date: circa 1562 in a wild manner: as a. without regulation or control <plants that grow wild> b. off an intended or expected course

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., adv., & n. --adj. 1 (of an animal or plant) in its original natural state; not domesticated or cultivated (esp. of species or varieties allied to others that are not wild). 2 not civilized; barbarous. 3 (of scenery etc.) having a conspicuously desolate appearance. 4 unrestrained, disorderly, uncontrolled (a wild youth; wild hair). 5 tempestuous, violent (a wild night). 6 a intensely eager; excited, frantic (wild with excitement; wild delight). b (of looks, appearance, etc.) indicating distraction. c (foll. by about) colloq. enthusiastically devoted to (a person or subject). 7 colloq. infuriated, angry (makes me wild). 8 haphazard, ill-aimed, rash (a wild guess; a wild shot; a wild venture). 9 (of a horse, game-bird, etc.) shy; easily startled. 10 colloq. exciting, delightful. 11 (of a card) having any rank chosen by the player holding it (the joker is wild). --adv. in a wild manner (shooting wild). --n. 1 a wild tract. 2 a desert. Phrases and idioms: in the wild in an uncultivated etc. state. in (or out in) the wilds colloq. far from normal habitation. run wild grow or stray unchecked or undisciplined. sow one's wild oats see OAT. wild and woolly uncouth; lacking refinement. wild boar see BOAR. wild card 1 see sense 11 of adj. 2 Computing a character that will match any character or sequence of characters in a file name etc. 3 Sport an extra player or team chosen to enter a competition at the selectors' discretion. wild cat any of various smallish cats, esp. the European Felis sylvestris (cf. WILDCAT). wild-goose chase a foolish or hopeless and unproductive quest. wild horse 1 a horse not domesticated or broken in. 2 (in pl.) colloq. even the most powerful influence etc. (wild horses would not drag the secret from me). wild hyacinth = BLUEBELL 1. wild man of the woods colloq. an orang-utan. wild rice any tall grass of the genus Zizania, yielding edible grains. wild silk 1 silk from wild silkworms. 2 an imitation of this from short silk fibres. Wild West the western US in a time of lawlessness in its early history. Derivatives: wildish adj. wildly adv. wildness n. Etymology: OE wilde f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wild Wild, a. [Compar. Wilder; superl. Wildest.] [OE. wilde, AS. wilde; akin to OFries. wilde, D. wild, OS. & OHG. wildi, G. wild, Sw. & Dan. vild, Icel. villr wild, bewildered, astray, Goth. wilpeis wild, and G. & OHG. wild game, deer; of uncertain origin.] 1. Living in a state of nature; inhabiting natural haunts, as the forest or open field; not familiar with, or not easily approached by, man; not tamed or domesticated; as, a wild boar; a wild ox; a wild cat. Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way. --Shak. 2. Growing or produced without culture; growing or prepared without the aid and care of man; native; not cultivated; brought forth by unassisted nature or by animals not domesticated; as, wild parsnip, wild camomile, wild strawberry, wild honey. The woods and desert caves, With wild thyme and gadding vine o'ergrown. --Milton. 3. Desert; not inhabited or cultivated; as, wild land. ``To trace the forests wild.'' --Shak. 4. Savage; uncivilized; not refined by culture; ferocious; rude; as, wild natives of Africa or America. 5. Not submitted to restraint, training, or regulation; turbulent; tempestuous; violent; ungoverned; licentious; inordinate; disorderly; irregular; fanciful; imaginary; visionary; crazy. ``Valor grown wild by pride.'' --Prior. ``A wild, speculative project.'' --Swift. What are these So withered and so wild in their attire ? --Shak. With mountains, as with weapons, armed; which makes Wild work in heaven. --Milton. The wild winds howl. --Addison. Search then the ruling passion, there, alone The wild are constant, and the cunning known. --Pope. 6. Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered; as, a wild roadstead. 7. Indicating strong emotion, intense excitement, or ?ewilderment; as, a wild look. 8. (Naut.) Hard to steer; -- said of a vessel. Note: Many plants are named by prefixing wild to the names of other better known or cultivated plants to which they a bear a real or fancied resemblance; as, wild allspice, wild pink, etc. See the Phrases below.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wild Wild, n. An uninhabited and uncultivated tract or region; a forest or desert; a wilderness; a waste; as, the wilds of America; the wilds of Africa. then Libya first, of all her moisture drained, Became a barren waste, a wild of sand. --Addison.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wild Wild, adv. Wildly; as, to talk wild. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(wilds, wilder, wildest) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Wild animals or plants live or grow in natural surroundings and are not looked after by people. We saw two more wild cats creeping towards us in the darkness... The lane was lined with wild flowers. ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. Wild land is natural and is not used by people. Elmley is one of the few wild areas remaining in the South East. ADJ: usu ADJ n • wildness ...the wildness of the mountains. N-UNCOUNT 3. The wilds of a place are the natural areas that are far away from towns. They went canoeing in the wilds of Canada. N-PLURAL: the N 4. Wild is used to describe the weather or the sea when it is stormy. The wild weather did not deter some people from swimming in the sea. = stormy ADJ: usu ADJ n 5. Wild behaviour is uncontrolled, excited, or energetic. The children are wild with joy... As George himself came on stage they went wild... They marched into town to the wild cheers of the inhabitants. ADJ: oft v-link ADJ with n • wildly As she finished each song, the crowd clapped wildly. ADV: ADV with v 6. If you describe someone or their behaviour as wild, you mean that they behave in a very uncontrolled way. The house is in a mess after a wild party. ADJ • wildly Five people were injured as Reynolds slashed out wildly with a kitchen knife. ADV: ADV with v • wildness He had come to love the danger and the wildness of his life. N-UNCOUNT 7. If someone is wild, they are very angry. (INFORMAL) For a long time I daren't tell him I knew, and when I did he went wild. = mad, crazy ADJ: usu v-link ADJ 8. A wild idea is unusual or extreme. A wild guess is one that you make without much thought. Browning's prediction is no better than a wild guess. ADJ: ADJ n • wildly 'Thirteen?' he guessed wildly. ADV 9. see also wildly, wild child 10. If you are wild about someone or something, you like them very much. (INFORMAL) I'm just wild about Peter, and he's just wild about me... = be crazy about PHRASE: V inflects 11. Animals that live in the wild live in a free and natural state and are not looked after by people. Fewer than a thousand giant pandas still live in the wild. PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR 12. If something or someone, especially a child, runs wild, they behave in a natural, free, or uncontrolled way. Everything that could grow was running wild for lack of attention... PHRASE: V inflects 13. beyond your wildest dreams: see dream in your wildest dreams: see dream to sow your wild oats: see oats

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Undomesticated, untamed. 2. Uncultivated, native. 3. Uncivilized, savage, rude, ferocious, barbarous, unrefined, untamed. 4. Impetuous, turbulent, irregular, violent, ungoverned, unrestrained, disorderly, furious, frantic, frenzied, outrageous. 5. Giddy, reckless, thoughtless, hare-brained, inconsiderate, heedless, light-headed, harum-scarum (colloq.). 6. Fanciful, imaginary, extravagant, visionary, crazy, grotesque, strange, bizarre. II. n. Desert. See wilderness.

Moby Thesaurus

Arabia Deserta, Death Valley, Dionysiac, Gothic, Neanderthal, Sahara, abandoned, absurd, accident-prone, addled, adventurous, agitated, agrarian, amok, anarchic, angry, animal, at fever pitch, atrocious, audacious, bacchic, back, back country, back of beyond, back-country, backwood, backwoods, backwoodsy, barbarian, barbaric, barbarous, baroque, barren, barren land, barrens, bellowing, berserk, bestial, bewildered, beyond belief, beyond control, bizarre, blatant, bloody, blustering, blusterous, blustery, boisterous, bold, boondock, boondocks, borderland, brain-born, brash, breachy, breakneck, brush, brutal, brutish, bush, bush country, bushveld, carefree, careless, carried away, chaotic, clamorous, coarse, cockamamie, cocksure, confused, contumacious, corybantic, crazy, daredevil, daring, dashing, death-defying, debauched, defiant, delirious, demented, demoniac, deranged, desert, desolation, desperate, devil-may-care, dirty, disorderly, dissipated, dissolute, distracted, distrait, distraught, dream-built, dust bowl, ecstatic, enraged, enraptured, escaped, extravagant, fanatical, fanciful, fancy-born, fancy-built, fancy-woven, fantasque, fantastic, fast, febrile, feckless, feral, ferine, ferocious, feverish, fierce, fiery, fighting mad, fire-eating, florid, foolhardy, foolish, forests, forward, fractious, frantic, free, frenetic, frenzied, frontier, fulminating, fuming, furious, gallant, gay, go-go, graceless, grotesque, haggard, harebrained, harsh, harum-scarum, hasty, headlong, heath, hectic, heedless, hellish, high-flown, hinterland, hog-wild, hopping mad, hotheaded, howling, howling wilderness, hurried, hysteric, hysterical, ill-bred, immoderate, impatient of control, impetuous, impolite, in a rage, in a transport, in hysterics, incautious, incontinent, incorrigible, incredible, indocile, indomitable, indulgent, infatuated, infuriate, infuriated, inhuman, insane, insensate, insuppressible, intemperate, intoxicated, intractable, irrepressible, irresponsible, karroo, kill-crazy, knock-down-and-drag-out, knockabout, laughable, lax, lewd, licentious, like one possessed, loose, ludicrous, lunar landscape, lunar waste, mad, madbrain, madbrained, madcap, madding, maenadic, maggoty, malign, malignant, maniac, maniacal, merciless, mindless, monstrous, muddled, murderous, native, natural, noncivilized, nonrestrictive, nonsensical, notional, obstreperous, orgasmic, orgastic, orgiastic, ornery, out of control, out of hand, outback, outlandish, outpost, outrageous, outre, overanxious, overdesirous, overeager, overenthusiastic, overzealous, pandemoniac, passionate, perfervid, permissive, perplexed, perturbed, pitiless, poppycockish, possessed, precipitant, precipitate, precipitous, preposterous, presumptuous, primitive, profligate, rabid, raffish, raging, rakehell, rakehellish, rakehelly, rakish, rambling, rambunctious, rampageous, rampant, ramping, ranting, rash, ravening, raving, raving mad, ravished, recalcitrant, reckless, refractory, reinless, resistant, resisting, restive, revolutionary, ridiculous, riotous, rip-roaring, roaring, roaring mad, rococo, roisterous, rollicking, rough, rough-and-ready, rough-and-tumble, rowdy, rude, running mad, running wild, ruthless, salt flat, sanguinary, savage, severe, shrewish, simmering, slap-bang, slapdash, sporty, stark-raving mad, storming, stormy, swaggering, sylvan, tameless, tasteless, tempestuous, terrorist, the bush, thoughtless, timbers, tornadic, transported, troglodytic, troublous, tumultuous, turbulent, ultrazealous, unbiddable, unbridled, unchaste, unchecked, uncivil, uncivilized, uncoerced, uncombed, uncompelled, unconstrained, uncontrollable, uncontrolled, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, uncurbed, undisciplined, undomesticated, unforced, ungentle, ungovernable, ungoverned, uninhabited region, uninhibited, unkempt, unmalleable, unmanageable, unmastered, unmeasured, unmoldable, unmuzzled, unpolished, unrefined, unreined, unrepressed, unreserved, unrestrained, unrestrictive, unruly, unsubdued, unsubmissive, unsuppressed, untamed, untoward, up-country, uproarious, upset, vehement, vicious, violent, virgin, virgin land, virgin territory, volcanic, vulgar, wandering, wanton, waste, wasteland, weary waste, weird, whimsical, wild West, wild-ass, wild-eyed, wild-looking, wilderness, wildness, wilds, woodland, woodlands, woods