wanton

[won-tn]

See more synonyms for wanton on Thesaurus.com

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.
1. sportive or frolicsome, as children or young animals.
2. 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.

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

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

Can be confusedwanton won ton

Synonyms for wanton

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

Antonyms for wanton

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for wantonly

willingly, plainly, publicly, candidly, fully, honestly, simply, readily, blatantly, unabashedly, brazenly, unashamedly, flagrantly, aboveboard, frankly, naively, naturally, shamelessly, straight, ingenuously

Examples from the Web for wantonly

Contemporary Examples of 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

Historical Examples of wantonly

I have enemies enow, God knows, though I do not wantonly add to the number.
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
You had broken my heart, and I thought that you had done it wantonly.
Bardelys the Magnificent
Rafael Sabatini
That was their offense, and yet the town was wantonly destroyed.
Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times
Charles Carleton Coffin
I now was expected to try to grab the maids and kiss them wantonly.
The O'Ruddy
Stephen Crane
Watch that your pride does not chafe them—your power does not wantonly gall.
The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 2, January, 1851
Various

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.