rampant

[ram-puhnt]

adjective

1. violent in action or spirit; raging; furious.

   a rampant leopard.

2. growing luxuriantly, as weeds.

3. in full sway; prevailing or unchecked.

   a rampant rumor.

   Synonyms: unrestrained, widespread, rife

4. (of an animal) standing on the hind legs; ramping. ramp.

5. Heraldry.,  (of a beast used as a charge) represented in profile facing the dexter side, with the body upraised and resting on the left hind leg, the tail and other legs elevated, the right foreleg highest, and the head in profile unless otherwise specified.

   a lion rampant.

6. Architecture.,  (of an arch or vault) springing at one side from one level of support and resting at the other on a higher level.

rampant

/ ˈræmpənt /

adjective

1. unrestrained or violent in behaviour, desire, opinions, etc

2. growing or developing unchecked

3. (postpositive) heraldry (of a beast) standing on the hind legs, the right foreleg raised above the left

4. (of an arch) having one abutment higher than the other

Other Word Forms

• rampantly adverb
• rampancy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rampant¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French, literally, “creeping, climbing,” present participle of ramper “to creep, crawl, climb”; ramp ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of rampant¹

C14: from Old French ramper to crawl, rear; see _ramp

Example Sentences

Nearly 14 million Ecuadorans are eligible to cast ballots on four questions that will decide how the country tackles rampant drug violence and addresses economic reforms.

Read more on Barron's

But the practice is rampant among New York’s cannabis sellers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It was also a time of rampant inequality, corruption and repression, including government-sponsored torture and murder.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Beeb has been rocked by the leak to the Telegraph newspaper of an internal memo detailing rampant political bias.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

During the last shutdown, in 2018-19, the ranger said, resource damage was rampant at numerous parks because the guidance “was, like, shutter your doors, skeleton crew, leave the park open.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• excessive 
• flagrant 
• growing 
• prevalent 
• raging www.thesaurus.com
• rife 
• runaway 
• spreading www.thesaurus.com
• unbridled 
• unchecked 
• uncontrollable 
• unhindered 
• unrestrained 
• wanton