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• wilder
  wilder

  verb (used with object)

  to cause to lose one's way.
• Wilder
  Wilder

  noun

  Billy Samuel Wilder, 1906–2002, U.S. film director, producer, and writer; born in Austria.

wilder

¹ American  

[wil-der] / ˈwɪl dər /

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to lose one's way.

2. to bewilder.

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verb (used without object)

1. to lose one's way.

2. to be bewildered.

wilder ² American  

[wahyl-der] / ˈwaɪl dər /

adjective

1. comparative of wild.

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Wilder ³ American  

[wahyl-der] / ˈwaɪl dər /

noun

1. Billy Samuel Wilder, 1906–2002, U.S. film director, producer, and writer; born in Austria.

2. Laura Ingalls 1867–1957, U.S. writer of children's books.

3. Thornton (Niven) 1897–1975, U.S. novelist and playwright.

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Wilder ¹ British  

/ ˈwaɪldə /

noun

1. Billy, real name Samuel Wilder. 1906–2002, US film director and screenwriter, born in Austria. His films include Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Some Like it Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), and Buddy Buddy (1981)

2. Thornton. 1897–1975 US novelist and dramatist. His works include the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) and the play The Skin of Our Teeth (1942)

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wilder ² British  

/ ˈwɪldə /

verb

1. to lead or be led astray

2. to bewilder or become bewildered

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Other Word Forms

• wilderment
  noun

Etymology

Origin of wilder

First recorded in 1605–15; perhaps extracted from wilderness; intransitive use probably by association with wander

Example Sentences

You know him as the actor Gene Wilder.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

During the last 30 years of his life, after winning Pulitzer Prizes for “Our Town” and “The Skin of Our Teeth,” Thornton Wilder never completed another full-length play.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

I said, “Billy Wilder sat down and made that up based on what he observed.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

Admirable though Mr. Lynn’s dedication to resurrecting Wilder’s unfinished work may be, the production affirms what Wilder seems to have deduced about the play: that he could never quite realize his ambitions for it.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

I liked the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories and the We Were There series about kids who lived at great historical moments, but my very favorite was Black Beauty.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls