wanton

[won-tn]

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adjective

done, shown, used, etc., maliciously or unjustifiably: a wanton attack; wanton cruelty.

deliberate and without motive or provocation; uncalled-for; headstrong; willful: Why jeopardize your career in such a wanton way?

without regard for what is right, just, humane, etc.; careless; reckless: a wanton attacker of religious convictions.

sexually lawless or unrestrained; loose; lascivious; lewd: wanton behavior.

extravagantly or excessively luxurious, as a person, manner of living, or style.

luxuriant, as vegetation.

Archaic.

sportive or frolicsome, as children or young animals.
having free play: wanton breezes; a wanton brook.

noun

a wanton or lascivious person, especially a woman.

verb (used without object)

to behave in a wanton manner; become wanton.

verb (used with object)

to squander, especially in pleasure (often followed by away): to wanton away one's inheritance.

Nearby words

Origin of wanton

1250–1300; Middle English wantowen literally, undisciplined, ill-reared, Old English wan- not + togen past participle of tēon to discipline, rear, cognate with German ziehen, Latin dūcere to lead; akin to tow¹

SYNONYMS FOR wanton

1. malicious. 2. calculated. 3. heedless, inconsiderate. 4. licentious, dissolute, immoral, libidinous, concupiscent, lustful. 5. lavish. 10. waste.

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ANTONYMS FOR wanton

3. careful, considerate. 4, 5. restrained.

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Related formswan·ton·ly, adverbwan·ton·ness, nounun·wan·ton, adjective

Can be confusedwanton won ton

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

Examples from the Web for wantonly

Now his people were wantonly punished for resisting the expulsion; for seeking to reverse it.
Old Problems and New Realities|Ahmed Moor|November 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Yet are there people so wantonly in need of sport as to do so.
Adventures and Enthusiasms|E. V. Lucas
Therefore he kills them only as necessity and the exigencies of life demand, and not wantonly.
Red Hunters And the Animal People|Charles A. Eastman
Cruel and oppressive she wantonly abuses the rights of man, and willingly sacrifices her liberty upon the altar of slavery.
Anti-Slavery Opinions before the Year 1800|William Frederick Poole

But the heathen, instead of making use of this light, wantonly extinguished it.
The Life of St. Paul|James Stalker
Some professed to believe that the colts had been wantonly poisoned.
A Busy Year at the Old Squire's|Charles Asbury Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for wantonly

wanton

adjective

dissolute, licentious, or immoral

without motive, provocation, or justificationwanton destruction

maliciously and unnecessarily cruel or destructive

unrestrainedwanton spending

archaic, or poetic playful or capricious

archaic (of vegetation, etc) luxuriant or superabundant

noun

a licentious person, esp a woman

a playful or capricious person

verb

(intr) to behave in a wanton manner

(tr) to squander or waste

Derived Formswantonly, adverbwantonness, noun

Word Origin for wanton

C13 wantowen (in the obsolete sense: unmanageable, unruly): from wan- (prefix equivalent to un- 1; related to Old English wanian to wane) + -towen, from Old English togen brought up, from tēon to bring up

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 wantonly

wanton

"one who is ill-behaved," especially (but not originally) "lascivious, lewd person," c.1400, from wanton (adj.).

wanton

1580s, from wanton (n.). Related: Wantoned; wantoning.

wanton

adj.

c.1300, wan-towen, "resistant to control; willful," from Middle English privative prefix wan- "wanting, lacking" (from Old English wan "wanting;" see wane) + togen, past participle of teon "to train, discipline;" literally "to pull, draw," from Proto-Germanic *teuhan (cf. Old High German ziohan "to pull;" see tug). The basic notion perhaps is "ill-bred, poorly brought up;" cf. German ungezogen "ill-bred, rude, haughty," literally "unpulled."

As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, They kill vs for their sport. [Shakespeare, "Lear," 1605]

Especially of sexual indulgence from late 14c. The only English survival of a once-common Germanic negating prefix still active in Dutch (cf. wanbestuur "misgovernment," wanluid "discordant sound"), German (wahn-), etc. Related: Wantonly; wantonness.

wanton

adjective

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

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Origin of wanton

Examples from the Web for wantonly

wanton

adjective

noun

verb

Word Origin for wanton

wanton

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