wantonly
Americanadverb
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willfully and thoughtlessly; recklessly.
We wantonly destroy the ecosystem that gives us life when we take out more than it can afford to give.
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without regard for what is right, just, or humane; maliciously and unjustifiably.
Those who wantonly and cruelly beat, abuse, or ill-treat these animals will be punished.
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in a sensually loose or unrestrained way.
A single day lived virtuously is worth more than a hundred years lived wantonly and without discipline.
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in an extravagant or excessively luxurious way.
Nations cannot continue to spend wantonly, hoping for a bailout that may not come.
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in a prolific or uncontrolled way.
A swarm of Asian carp are advancing up the Illinois River, breeding wantonly and gorging on plankton.
Etymology
Origin of wantonly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A publication that once stood for truth and justice, emboldening reporters like Bernstein and Woodward to uncover corruption, was now wantonly flaunting its own rot.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026
Anthropic’s worries over Claude’s alleged ability to feel distress aren’t really about Claude; they’re about our all-too-human unease over the possibility that we’re wantonly using something that doesn’t want to be used.
From Slate • Aug. 20, 2025
At its unveiling, Mr Downey said the new version had been designed to be "as solid as possible, out of a durable material which cannot be wantonly destroyed".
From BBC • May 16, 2025
Only Madsen seems to be on the right wavelength, having fun being wantonly evil.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2023
Yet—perhaps the stirring, urgent sense again—when Dr. Montague’s confirming letter arrived, Theodora had been tempted and had somehow plunged blindly, wantonly, into a violent quarrel with the friend with whom she shared an apartment.
From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
