Adjacent Words

Wilderness definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WILDERNESS, n. [from wild.]
1. A desert; a tract of land or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings, whether a forest or a wide barren plain. In the United States, it is applied only to a forest. In Scripture, it is applied frequently to the deserts of Arabia. The Israelites wandered int he wilderness forty years.
2. The ocean.
The watry wilderness yields no supply.
3. A state of disorder. [Not in use.]
4. A wood in a garden, resembling a forest.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (politics) a state of disfavor; "he led the Democratic party back from the wilderness"
2: a wooded region in northeastern Virginia near Spotsylvania where bloody but inconclusive battles were fought in the American Civil War
3: a wild and uninhabited area left in its natural condition; "it was a wilderness preserved for the hawks and mountaineers" [syn: wilderness, wild]
4: a bewildering profusion; "the duties of citizenship are lost sight of in the wilderness of interests of individuals and groups"; "a wilderness of masts in the harbor"

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from wildern wild, from Old English wildd?oren of wild beasts Date: 13th century 1. a. (1) a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings (2) an area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community b. an empty or pathless area or region <in remote wildernesses of space groups of nebulae are found — G. W. Gray †1960> c. a part of a garden devoted to wild growth 2. obsolete wild or uncultivated state 3. a. a confusing multitude or mass ; an indefinitely great number or quantity <I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys — Shakespeare> b. a bewildering situation <those moral wildernesses of civilized life — Norman Mailer>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a desert; an uncultivated and uninhabited region. 2 part of a garden left with an uncultivated appearance. 3 (foll. by of) a confused assemblage of things. Phrases and idioms: in the wilderness out of political office. voice in the wilderness an unheeded advocate of reform (see Matt.
3:3 etc.). Etymology: OE wildeornes f. wild deor wild deer

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wilderness Wil"der*ness, n. [OE. wildernesse, wilderne,probably from AS. wildor a wild beast; cf. D. wildernis wilderness. See Wilder, v. t.] 1. A tract of land, or a region, uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings, whether a forest or a wide, barren plain; a wild; a waste; a desert; a pathless waste of any kind. The wat'ry wilderness yields no supply. --Waller. 2. A disorderly or neglected place. --Cowper. 3. Quality or state of being wild; wildness. [Obs.] These paths and bowers doubt not but our joint hands. Will keep from wilderness with ease. --Milton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(wildernesses) A wilderness is a desert or other area of natural land which is not used by people. ...the icy Canadian wilderness... N-COUNT: usu sing

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(1.) Heb. midhbar, denoting not a barren desert but a district or region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle (Ps. 65:12; Isa. 42:11; Jer. 23:10; Joel 1:19; 2:22); an uncultivated place. This word is used of the wilderness of Beersheba (Gen. 21:14), on the southern border of Palestine; the wilderness of the Red Sea (Ex. 13:18); of Shur (15:22), a portion of the Sinaitic peninsula; of Sin (17:1), Sinai (Lev. 7:38), Moab (Deut. 2:8), Judah (Judg. 1:16), Ziph, Maon, En-gedi (1 Sam. 23:14, 24; 24:1), Jeruel and Tekoa (2 Chr. 20:16, 20), Kadesh (Ps. 29:8).

"The wilderness of the sea" (Isa. 21:1). Principal Douglas, referring to this expression, says: "A mysterious name, which must be meant to describe Babylon (see especially ver. 9), perhaps because it became the place of discipline to God's people, as the wilderness of the Red Sea had been (comp. Ezek. 20:35). Otherwise it is in contrast with the symbolic title in Isa. 22:1. Jerusalem is the "valley of vision," rich in spiritual husbandry; whereas Babylon, the rival centre of influence, is spiritually barren and as restless as the sea (comp. 57:20)." A Short Analysis of the O.T.

(2.) Jeshimon, a desert waste (Deut. 32:10; Ps. 68:7).

(3.) 'Arabah, the name given to the valley from the Dead Sea to the eastern branch of the Red Sea. In Deut. 1:1; 2:8, it is rendered "plain" (R.V., "Arabah").

(4.) Tziyyah, a "dry place" (Ps. 78:17; 105:41).

(5.) Tohu, a "desolate" place, a place "waste" or "unoccupied" (Deut. 32:10; Job 12:24; comp. Gen. 1:2, "without form"). The wilderness region in the Sinaitic peninsula through which for forty years the Hebrews wandered is generally styled "the wilderness of the wanderings." This entire region is in the form of a triangle, having its base toward the north and its apex toward the south. Its extent from north to south is about 250 miles, and at its widest point it is about 150 miles broad. Throughout this vast region of some 1,500 square miles there is not a single river. The northern part of this triangular peninsula is properly the "wilderness of the wanderings" (et-Tih). The western portion of it is called the "wilderness of Shur" (Ex. 15:22), and the eastern the "wilderness of Paran."

The "wilderness of Judea" (Matt. 3:1) is a wild, barren region, lying between the Dead Sea and the Hebron Mountains. It is the "Jeshimon" mentioned in 1 Sam. 23:19.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

wil'-der-nes.

See DESERT; JUDAEA, WILDERNESS OF; WANDERINGS OF ISRAEL.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Wild, desert, waste.

Moby Thesaurus

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