wandering

[ won-der-ing ]

adjective

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

   Crowds of wandering tourists crossed the square.

2. having no permanent residence; nomadic:

   They were historically a wandering people, moving seasonally through the area.

3. meandering; winding:

   They followed a wandering path down the mountain.

noun

1. an aimless roving about; leisurely traveling from place to place:

   For our honeymoon we had a period of delightful wandering through Italy.

2. Usually wan·der·ings.
   1. aimless travels; meanderings:

      Her wanderings took her all over the world.

   2. disordered thoughts or utterances; incoherencies:

      mental wanderings;

      the wanderings of delirium.

3. seemingly aimless or random movement from one place to another by a person with a mental or cognitive disability or impairment: elopement ( def 2 ).

   Wandering by Alzheimer’s patients is a problem in nursing homes.

Other Words From

• wan·der·ing·ly adverb
• wan·der·ing·ness noun
• un·wan·der·ing adjective
• un·wan·der·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of wandering¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English (noun, adjective), Old English wandrigende (adjective); wander ( def ), -ing ²( def ), -ing ¹( def )

Example Sentences

Later, information emerged that this sea lion is known for its wanderings.

From Voice of San Diego

This is counter-intuitive because spontaneous fluctuations and mind-wandering can also lead to depressive rumination and anxiety.

From Nautilus

Similar to playing and dreaming is the wandering of our minds.

From Nautilus

When psychologists do that, they find that mind-wandering is staggeringly frequent.

From Nautilus

Mind-wandering is often considered a harmless quirk, as in the cliché of the scatter-brained professor.

From Nautilus

Mr. Bachner found it by wandering through the market and identified a craftsmen here who works in a tiny booth.

From The Daily Beast

And, in a gratuitous show of homicidal prowess, Moses kills two assassins he meets while wandering in the desert of Sinai.

From The Daily Beast

After wandering at haphazard some little way I met a peasant in a sleigh.

From The Daily Beast

He showed signs of a restless, wandering soul, someone searching for meaning around him.

From The Daily Beast

I spotted American students wandering around London last week dressed in Stars and Stripes shorts and bikini tops.

From The Daily Beast

She observed his pale looks, and the distracted wandering of his eyes; but she would not notice either.

From Project Gutenberg

This mode of learning promotes attention and prevents mind-wandering.

From Project Gutenberg

He paled a little, and sucked his lip, his eyes wandering to the girl, who stood in stolid inapprehension of what was being said.

From Project Gutenberg

John and Judas became the good and evil Wandering Jews of mediæval folklore.

From Project Gutenberg

He was relieved to learn that his grandson Moses Mole was not wandering about the garden, after all.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• meandering
• nomadic
• roving