wild
adjective
living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated.
Showing results for wild.
Search instead for
Wilds.
wild
American
[wahyld]
/ waɪld /
adjective
-
wilder,
comparative
-
wildest
superlative
-
living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated.
a wild animal;
wild geese.
- Antonyms:
- tame
-
growing or produced without cultivation or the care of humans, as plants, flowers, fruit, or honey.
wild cherries.
-
uncultivated, uninhabited, or waste.
wild country.
-
uncivilized or barbarous.
wild tribes.
-
of unrestrained violence, fury, intensity, etc.; violent; furious.
wild strife;
wild storms.
- Synonyms:
- turbulent, frenzied, stormy, tempestuous
-
characterized by or indicating violent feelings or excitement, as actions or a person's appearance.
wild cries;
a wild look.
- Synonyms:
- boisterous
-
frantic or distracted; crazy.
to drive someone wild.
- Synonyms:
- insane
-
violently or uncontrollably affected.
wild with rage;
wild with pain.
-
undisciplined, unruly, or lawless.
a gang of wild boys.
- Synonyms:
- wayward, unrestrained, riotous, self-willed
-
unrestrained, untrammeled, or unbridled.
wild enthusiasm.
- Synonyms:
- uncontrollable
-
disregardful of moral restraints as to pleasurable indulgence.
He repented his wild youth.
-
unrestrained by reason or prudence.
wild schemes.
- Synonyms:
- rash, reckless, impracticable, extravagant
-
amazing or incredible.
Isn't that wild about Bill getting booted out of the club?
-
disorderly or disheveled.
wild hair.
- Synonyms:
- unkempt
-
wide of the mark.
He scored on a wild throw.
-
Informal. intensely eager or enthusiastic.
wild to get started;
wild about the new styles.
-
Cards. (of a card) having its value decided by the wishes of the players.
-
Metallurgy. (of molten metal) generating large amounts of gas during cooling, so as to cause violent bubbling.
adverb
noun
verb (used with object)
wilded,
wilding
idioms
-
run wild,
-
to grow unchecked.
The rambler roses are running wild.
-
to show lack of restraint or control.
Those children are allowed to run wild.
-
-
in the wild,
-
in a natural state or in the wilderness.
-
in the real world; in real life.
language learning in the classroom and in the wild.
-
-
blow wild, (of an oil or gas well) to spout in an uncontrolled way, as in a blowout.
wild
1
British
/ waɪld /
adjective
-
(of animals) living independently of man; not domesticated or tame
-
(of plants) growing in a natural state; not cultivated
-
uninhabited or uncultivated; desolate
a wild stretch of land
-
living in a savage or uncivilized way
wild tribes
-
lacking restraint
wild merriment
-
of great violence or intensity
a wild storm
-
disorderly or chaotic
wild thoughts
wild talk
-
dishevelled; untidy
wild hair
-
in a state of extreme emotional intensity
wild with anger
-
reckless
wild speculations
-
not calculated; random
a wild guess
-
unconventional; fantastic; crazy
wild friends
-
informal intensely enthusiastic or excited
-
(of a card, such as a joker or deuce in some games) able to be given any value the holder pleases
jacks are wild
-
-
rough; untamed; barbarous
-
(of theories, plans, etc) not fully thought out
-
adverb
-
in a wild manner
-
-
to grow without cultivation or care
-
to behave without restraint
-
noun
-
(often plural) a desolate, uncultivated, or uninhabited region
-
-
a free natural state of living
-
the wilderness
-
Wild
2
British
/ waɪld /
noun
wild
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
half-wildnessnoun
-
overwildnessnoun
-
semiwildnessnoun
-
unwildnessnoun
-
wildnessnoun
-
half-wildadjective
-
overwildadjective
-
semiwildadjective
-
unwildadjective
-
wildishadjective
-
half-wildlyadverb
-
overwildlyadverb
-
semiwildlyadverb
-
unwildlyadverb
-
wildlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of wild
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English wilde; cognate with Dutch, German wild, Old Norse villr, Swedish vild, Gothic wiltheis
Explanation
Something that's wild lives in nature and isn't tamed. Your pet poodle isn't wild, but the groundhog that lives under your garden shed is wild. An animal or plant in its native habitat is wild, like a wild dingo or a wild strawberry. An untamed bit of nature, like your overgrown back yard, or a stormy ocean, is also wild. If a person is wild, he might be unrestrained, crazy, or even enthusiastic — like someone who's wild about cabaret music. The term "to run wild" means to grow unrestrained, undisciplined, like a wild animal or an imagination that isn't held back by rules.
Vocabulary lists containing wild
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He needs to be off the meds for at least 72 hours before he can be released, and he also needs to start displaying normal, wild behaviors, including aggression.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
He has won every election by a landslide, slayed the dragons, corraled the wild beasts and brought peace, tranquility and a great economy to his kingdom.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Yet for many who venture into the wild elsewhere on the continent, vultures are not the first birds to capture their attention.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
But with politics as wild as it has been of late, and the public in a sour mood, this election is shaping up as a mass of unknowns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
She wouldn’t be in her playhouse five minutes until all kinds of wild birds would come winging in from the mountains.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
"Katseye: Wild Hearts," which chronicles the pop girl group by the same name, came in fifth place, earning $3.6 million for Trafalgar Releasing on its opening weekend.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Wild Futures said it thought it had found a buyer to help improve the the site after it was put on the market in June 2025.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
The Wellness Break Wild Card Series also puts on 45-minute yoga classes every Wednesday and Friday, noon-12:45 p.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
He turned his attention to his other great love, wildlife and ornithology, in BBC series including Birding with Bill Oddie, Britain Goes Wild with Bill Oddie, and Bill Oddie's How to Watch Wildlife.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Wild game was plentiful on the plantation, and one of the few ways that enslaved people could earn any money was to hunt or trap birds to sell to Washington.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
America had its latchkey generation and, along with that, a growing sense that the world is a dangerous place, especially its wilder parts.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
She had once tried acting in New York, which means that she lived a wilder life once and is something of an improviser.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
Some of the wilder estimates of $200 for Brent suggest to Brooks an assumption that price elasticity is zero – in other words, demand is not impacted at all.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026
His wife hated the new bristles, but he let them grow fuller and wilder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
Once the Stolls had passed, we forged deeper into the west woods where the monsters were wilder.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
The revenue for this summer’s World Cup went beyond FIFA’s wildest dreams, generating $15 billion in revenue, up from an earlier projection of $11 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Wall Street endured a painful selloff on Wednesday, as new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh presided over one of the wildest Fed decision days for markets in recent memory.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
“The results of AB 66 and this first phase go beyond my wildest imaginations,” said Boerner, who hopes this proof of concept lays the groundwork for a future statewide alert system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Juneteenth — what it means for me is that I’m my ancestors’ wildest dreams,” she said, pointing to her elected office.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026
The singing of this song threw the animals into the wildest excitement.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
Or is there space still wilded enough for fleeting magic in suburban sprawl?
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
He’s also been wilding out on Truth Social, uncorking a series of posts that are unhinged, even for him.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2025
“Our young people are out here wilding sometimes, and whatever it takes for us to get them under control, we have to do it,” he said.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 8, 2022
NP: Do you ever think about just wilding out on Twitter to compete with Elon directly?
From The Verge ● Jan. 25, 2022
I was like, “They’re really wilding out here in New York.”
From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2021
“They wilding out here,” DeVante says with a chuckle, but grabs his side.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
