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• wilderness
  wilderness

  noun

  a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a tract of wasteland.
• Wilderness
  Wilderness

  noun

  a wooded area in NE Virginia: several battles fought here in 1864 between armies of Grant and Lee.

wilderness

¹ American  

[wil-der-nis] / ˈwɪl dər nɪs /

noun

• wildernesses
  plural

1. a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a tract of wasteland.

2. a tract of land officially designated as such and protected by the U.S. government.

3. any desolate tract, as of open sea.

4. a part of a garden set apart for plants growing with unchecked luxuriance.

5. a bewildering mass or collection.

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Wilderness ² American  

[wil-der-nis] / ˈwɪl dər nɪs /

noun

1. a wooded area in NE Virginia: several battles fought here in 1864 between armies of Grant and Lee.

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wilderness ¹ British  

/ ˈwɪldənɪs /

noun

1. a wild, uninhabited, and uncultivated region

2. any desolate tract or area

3. a confused mass or collection

4. a person, group, etc, making a suggestion or plea that is ignored

5. no longer having influence, recognition, or publicity

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Wilderness ² British  

/ ˈwɪldənɪs /

noun

1. the barren regions to the south and east of Palestine, esp those in which the Israelites wandered before entering the Promised Land and in which Christ fasted for 40 days and nights

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Synonym Usage

See desert ¹.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• wildernesses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wilderness

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

Explanation

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.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wilderness Wilderness wildernesses

The interior American west, with its inhospitable landscape, was more akin to the Appalachian wilderness and attracted individuals with similarly rugged individualistic views.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Fairfax, who owns some five million acres, is worried about the fate of his assets in the wilderness known as the Ohio Territory, which both French Canadians and indigenous tribes are threatening to seize.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

These effects are most often studied in large wilderness regions, particularly in well-known examples involving wolves in Yellowstone National Park.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026

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

Two hundred and thirty miles of wilderness had been burned, ripped apart, or buried under a hundred feet of mud and debris.

From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis

Despite the acclaim his Birmingham restaurant The Wilderness commands, Claridge says the reality behind the kitchen doors is one of soaring costs, shrinking margins and constant uncertainty.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

In early November, Edie Harmon, who has documented border wall activity in the Jacumba Wilderness since 2020, learned that Marines were stringing wire in an area called Skull Valley.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

Desolation Wilderness in Eldorado National Forest is a short drive from South Lake Tahoe and covers “63,960 acres of subalpine and alpine forest, granitic peaks, and glacially-formed valleys and lakes,” according to the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

Whittaker testified before Congress in 1968, and his advocacy helped establish North Cascades National Park and the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington state, as well as Redwood National Park in California.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026

“Most of that food was for the Hundred Mile Wilderness, Stephen. We don’t know what kind of supplies there’ll be in Monson.”

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

America’s great national parks and wildernesses must be littered with dead relatives.

From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026

He came out of Africa and had spent years in the wildernesses of the East and the West.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

AppLovin has an ad platform that facilitates ads surrounding mobile apps, especially games, one of the last untamed wildernesses of digital advertising.

From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026

For Ally Turner and her friend Glynis Mattheisen, it took a three day trek through one of Scotland's last great wildernesses to reach Britain's remotest pub.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2024

The foragers were there before us and they brought about dramatic changes even in the densest jungles and the most desolate wildernesses.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Related Words

• back country
• desert
• forest
• jungle
• outback
• wasteland