a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a tract of wasteland.
a tract of land officially designated as such and protected by the U.S. government.
any desolate tract, as of open sea.
a part of a garden set apart for plants growing with unchecked luxuriance.
a bewildering mass or collection.
a wild, uninhabited, and uncultivated region
any desolate tract or area
a confused mass or collection
a person, group, etc, making a suggestion or plea that is ignored
no longer having influence, recognition, or publicity
See desert 1.
1150–1200; Middle English; Old English *wil ( d ) dēornes, equivalent to either wil ( d ) dēor wild beast ( see wild, deer) + -nes -ness, or wilddēoren wild, savage ( wilddēor + -en -en 2 ) + ( -n ) es -ness; probably reinforced by Middle English wildernes, genitive of wildern wilderness (noun use of Old English wilddēoren ), in phrases like wildernes land land of wilderness
If you don’t mow your lawn all summer, don’t be surprised if your neighbors complain that it resembles a wilderness, a wild area that is not tended by humans. The wilderness is of course filled with many animals, but did you know that the name of an animal is hidden in the word wilderness? The word actually is a combination of wild plus the Old English word dēor, along with the ending -ness, used in nouns that refer to a certain condition. While dēor eventually turned into our modern word deer, it didn’t refer to the antlered Bambi we imagine. It was simply the word for “animal.”
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Mountain lions can be found in wilderness areas near Pasadena such as the Angeles National Forest and Arroyo Seco.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
It’s an indignant question, one she’s asked herself repeatedly this past year, a time of “total shock” during which she and her husband found themselves in the wilderness instead of the White House.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
The Brown family and their life in the Alaskan wilderness were the subject of the reality TV show “Alaskan Bush People,” which ran on the Discovery Channel from 2014 to 2022.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026
In Ohio, land companies would sometimes grant wilderness tracts to homesteaders on the condition that they sow orchards as proof of their long-term commitment.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
Camarada Paixão Paishon, who had proved his mettle working in the wilderness for Rondon’s Telegraph Commission, labored so hard that his trousers were shredded.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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.
