wandering

[ won-der-ing ]

/ ˈwɒn dər ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wandering ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

moving from place to place without a fixed plan; roaming; rambling: wandering tourists.

having no permanent residence; nomadic: a wandering tribe of Indians.

meandering; winding: a wandering river; a wandering path.

noun

an aimless roving about; leisurely traveling from place to place: a period of delightful wandering through Italy.

Usually wanderings.

aimless travels; meanderings: Her wanderings took her all over the world.
disordered thoughts or utterances; incoherencies: mental wanderings; the wanderings of delirium.

seemingly aimless or random movement or locomotion by a person with a mental disorder or cognitive impairment: Wandering by Alzheimer’s patients is a problem in nursing homes.See also elopement(def 2).

Nearby words

Origin of wandering

before 1000; Middle English (noun, adj.), Old English wandrigende (adj.). See wander, -ing², -ing¹

Related formswan·der·ing·ly, adverbwan·der·ing·ness, nounun·wan·der·ing, adjectiveun·wan·der·ing·ly, adverb

wander

[ won-der ]

/ ˈwɒn dər /

verb (used without object)

to ramble without a definite purpose or objective; roam, rove, or stray: to wander over the earth.

to go aimlessly, indirectly, or casually; meander: The river wanders among the rocks.

to extend in an irregular course or direction: Foothills wandered off to the south.

to move, pass, or turn idly, as the hand or the eyes.

(of the mind, thoughts, desires, etc.) to take one direction or another without conscious intent or control: His attention wandered as the speaker droned on.

to stray from a path, place, companions, etc.: During the storm the ship wandered from its course.

to deviate in conduct, belief, etc.; err; go astray: Let me not wander from Thy Commandments.

to think or speak confusedly or incoherently.

(of a person with a mental disorder or cognitive impairment) to move about or walk in a seemingly aimless or random manner.

verb (used with object)

to travel about, on, or through: He wandered the streets.

noun

Mechanics. the drift of a gyroscope or a similar device.

Origin of wander

before 900; Middle English wandren, Old English wandrian (cognate with German wandern), frequentative of wendan to wend; see -er⁶

SYNONYMS FOR wander

1. range, stroll. 2. saunter. 6. swerve, veer. 8. ramble, rave.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wander ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formswan·der·er, nounout·wan·der, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wandering

Mr. Bachner found it by wandering through the market and identified a craftsmen here who works in a tiny booth.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And, in a gratuitous show of homicidal prowess, Moses kills two assassins he meets while wandering in the desert of Sinai.
Meet Moses the Swashbuckling Israelite|James Romm|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After wandering at haphazard some little way I met a peasant in a sleigh.
Book Bag: Beguiling if Unlikely Travel Books|Sean Wilsey|September 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He showed signs of a restless, wandering soul, someone searching for meaning around him.
Bergdahl’s Bitter Homecoming: The Psychological Cost of War|Jean Kim|July 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

While wandering the grounds, I keep an eye out for suspicious lumps in the dirt.
Pablo Escobar’s Private Prison Is Now Run by Monks for Senior Citizens|Jeff Campagna|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At times, from far up the moorland comes down even the strange cry of a buzzard, or the croak of a wandering raven.
In the West Country|Francis A. Knight
After wandering about for some time, he took up his residence in Charleston, where he amassed a splendid fortune.
Alonzo and Melissa|Daniel Jackson, Jr.
Who knows where he may be wandering as a beggar among people who speak another tongue?
Odysseus, the Hero of Ithaca|Homer
Wandering hither and thither at hazard, he found himself in the great gallery devoted to Egyptian stone objects and sculpture.
Smith and the Pharaohs, and Other Tales|Henry Rider Haggard
Gradually the great mountains at the head of the lake freed themselves from the last wandering cloud-wreaths.
Lady Rose's Daughter|Mrs. Humphry Ward

British Dictionary definitions for wandering

wander

/ (ˈwɒndə) /

verb (mainly intr)

(also tr) to move or travel about, in, or through (a place) without any definite purpose or destination

to proceed in an irregular course; meander

to go astray, as from a path or course

(of the mind, thoughts, etc) to lose concentration or direction

to think or speak incoherently or illogically

noun

the act or an instance of wandering

Derived Formswanderer, nounwandering, adjective, nounwanderingly, adverb

Word Origin for wander

Old English wandrian; related to Old Frisian wandria, Middle Dutch, Middle High German wanderen

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wandering

wander

Old English wandrian "move about aimlessly, wander," from West Germanic *wandrojan (cf. Old Frisian wondria, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch wanderen, German wandern "to wander," a variant form of the root represented in Old High German wantalon "to walk, wander"), from root *wend- "to turn" (see wind (v.)). In reference to the mind, affections, etc., attested from c.1400. Related: Wandered; wandering. The Wandering Jew of Christian legend first mentioned 13c. (cf. French le juif errant, German der ewige Jude).

Medicine definitions for wandering

wandering

[ wŏn′dər-ĭng ]

adj.

Moving about freely; not fixed; abnormally motile.

wandering

adjective

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of wandering

wander

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of wander

Examples from the Web for wandering

wander

verb (mainly intr)

noun

Word Origin for wander

wander

wandering

adj.