wandering

[ won-der-ing ]
See synonyms for wandering on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. 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.

    • aimless travels; meanderings: Her wanderings took her all over the world.

    • disordered thoughts or utterances; incoherencies: mental wanderings;the wanderings of delirium.

  1. seemingly aimless or random movement from one place to another by a person with a mental or cognitive disability or impairment: Wandering by Alzheimer’s patients is a problem in nursing homes.: See also elopement (def. 2).

Origin of wandering

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English (noun, adjective), Old English wandrigende (adjective); see wander, -ing2, -ing1

Other words from wandering

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wandering in a sentence

  • Six crossed pages of St. Louis gossip and wanderingly fluent advice.

    Young People's Pride | Stephen Vincent Benet
  • All this my aunt told me huskily, wanderingly, as though she were talking in the weak lapses of illness.

  • Like specters men staggered slowly and wanderingly through the gray streets.

    The U.P. Trail | Zane Grey
  • I seem to remember talking, wanderingly, to myself during that last spurt.

    The War of the Worlds | H. G. Wells
  • With a gleam of feverish exaltation, Johnny rose, albeit wanderingly, to the occasion!

    Cressy | Bret Harte