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• wild
  wild

  adjective

  living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated.
• Wild
  Wild

  noun

  Jonathan. ?1682–1725, British criminal, who organized a network of thieves, highwaymen, etc, while also working as an informer: said to have sent over a hundred men to the gallows before being hanged himself

wild

American  

[wahyld] / waɪld /

adjective

• wilder,
  comparative
• wildest
  superlative

1. living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated.

   a wild animal;

   wild geese.

   Synonyms:

   ferocious, unbroken

   Antonyms:

   tame

2. growing or produced without cultivation or the care of humans, as plants, flowers, fruit, or honey.

   wild cherries.

3. uncultivated, uninhabited, or waste.

   wild country.

4. uncivilized or barbarous.

   wild tribes.

   Synonyms:

   savage, barbarian

5. of unrestrained violence, fury, intensity, etc.; violent; furious.

   wild strife;

   wild storms.

   Synonyms:

   turbulent, frenzied, stormy, tempestuous

6. characterized by or indicating violent feelings or excitement, as actions or a person's appearance.

   wild cries;

   a wild look.

   Synonyms:

   boisterous

7. frantic or distracted; crazy.

   to drive someone wild.

   Synonyms:

   insane

8. violently or uncontrollably affected.

   wild with rage;

   wild with pain.

9. undisciplined, unruly, or lawless.

   a gang of wild boys.

   Synonyms:

   wayward, unrestrained, riotous, self-willed

10. unrestrained, untrammeled, or unbridled.

    wild enthusiasm.

    Synonyms:

    uncontrollable

11. disregardful of moral restraints as to pleasurable indulgence.

    He repented his wild youth.

12. unrestrained by reason or prudence.

    wild schemes.

    Synonyms:

    rash, reckless, impracticable, extravagant

13. amazing or incredible.

    Isn't that wild about Bill getting booted out of the club?

    Synonyms:

    fanciful, strange, bizarre, grotesque

14. disorderly or disheveled.

    wild hair.

    Synonyms:

    unkempt

15. wide of the mark.

    He scored on a wild throw.

16. Informal. intensely eager or enthusiastic.

    wild to get started;

    wild about the new styles.

17. Cards. (of a card) having its value decided by the wishes of the players.

18. Metallurgy. (of molten metal) generating large amounts of gas during cooling, so as to cause violent bubbling.

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adverb

1. in a wild manner; wildly.

noun

1. Often wilds an uncultivated, uninhabited, or desolate region or tract; waste; wilderness; desert.

   a cabin in the wild;

   a safari to the wilds of Africa.

verb (used with object)

wilded, wilding

1. to travel around as a group, attacking or assaulting (people) in a random and violent way.

   The man was wilded and left for dead.

idioms

1. run wild,

   1. to grow unchecked.

      The rambler roses are running wild.

   2. to show lack of restraint or control.

      Those children are allowed to run wild.

2. in the wild,

   1. in a natural state or in the wilderness.

   2. in the real world; in real life.

      language learning in the classroom and in the wild.

3. blow wild, (of an oil or gas well) to spout in an uncontrolled way, as in a blowout.

wild ¹ British  

/ waɪld /

adjective

1. (of animals) living independently of man; not domesticated or tame

2. (of plants) growing in a natural state; not cultivated

3. uninhabited or uncultivated; desolate

   a wild stretch of land

4. living in a savage or uncivilized way

   wild tribes

5. lacking restraint

   wild merriment

6. of great violence or intensity

   a wild storm

7. disorderly or chaotic

   wild thoughts

   wild talk

8. dishevelled; untidy

   wild hair

9. in a state of extreme emotional intensity

   wild with anger

10. reckless

    wild speculations

11. not calculated; random

    a wild guess

12. unconventional; fantastic; crazy

    wild friends

13. informal intensely enthusiastic or excited

14. (of a card, such as a joker or deuce in some games) able to be given any value the holder pleases

    jacks are wild

15. 1. rough; untamed; barbarous

    2. (of theories, plans, etc) not fully thought out

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adverb

1. in a wild manner

2. 1. to grow without cultivation or care

   2. to behave without restraint

noun

1. (often plural) a desolate, uncultivated, or uninhabited region

2. 1. a free natural state of living

   2. the wilderness

Wild ² British  

/ waɪld /

noun

1. Jonathan. ?1682–1725, British criminal, who organized a network of thieves, highwaymen, etc, while also working as an informer: said to have sent over a hundred men to the gallows before being hanged himself

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wild More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing wild

• go hog wild
• go wilding
• run amok (wild)
• sow one's wild oats

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-wildness
  noun
• overwildness
  noun
• semiwildness
  noun
• unwildness
  noun
• wildness
  noun
• half-wild
  adjective
• overwild
  adjective
• semiwild
  adjective
• unwild
  adjective
• wildish
  adjective
• half-wildly
  adverb
• overwildly
  adverb
• semiwildly
  adverb
• unwildly
  adverb
• wildly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• wilder
  comparative
• wildest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of wild

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English wilde; cognate with Dutch, German wild, Old Norse villr, Swedish vild, Gothic wiltheis

Explanation

Something that's wild lives in nature and isn't tamed. Your pet poodle isn't wild, but the groundhog that lives under your garden shed is wild. An animal or plant in its native habitat is wild, like a wild dingo or a wild strawberry. An untamed bit of nature, like your overgrown back yard, or a stormy ocean, is also wild. If a person is wild, he might be unrestrained, crazy, or even enthusiastic — like someone who's wild about cabaret music. The term "to run wild" means to grow unrestrained, undisciplined, like a wild animal or an imagination that isn't held back by rules.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wild Wild wilder wildest wilded wilding

Apart from one wild slog early in his innings, McKinney batted with a classical elegance while Rhodes was content to play the supporting role in a stand which stretched Durham's lead towards 300.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

As if the fourth quarter weren’t wild enough, the Gaels regained the lead with 6:49 left on a 54-yard touchdown reception by Corey Hinton.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Australian wildlife workers have launched an unprecedented effort to vaccinate wild populations of little penguins against the highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

It has been a wild summer for artificial-intelligence stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

I look around, but if the caramel leather box was here, Dad would have found it during his wild rampage.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Publicis Sports is teaming up with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to tackle the Wild West of college athlete endorsements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Singer-songwriter John Ross of the band Wild Pink operates at a high level artistically while remaining somewhat obscure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

"Katseye: Wild Hearts," which chronicles the pop girl group by the same name, came in fifth place, earning $3.6 million for Trafalgar Releasing on its opening weekend.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

Devon Docherty, Scottish campaigns manager at Protect the Wild, said refusing a licence was a "victory for compassion, for science and for common sense".

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Wild celebrations were breaking out across the country, as Americans everywhere cheered the Allied victory.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

America had its latchkey generation and, along with that, a growing sense that the world is a dangerous place, especially its wilder parts.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026

According to Elizabeth Margulis’s fascinating “Transported,” these dreams are wilder, more autobiographical and more communal than ordinary moments of mind-wandering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

"Mission Wild is about accepting that challenge and setting out to achieve a wilder Gloucestershire, with benefits for people, communities and nature," McLaughlin added.

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

She had once tried acting in New York, which means that she lived a wilder life once and is something of an improviser.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026

My parents had managed to claim that patch of territory only after wandering far from their parents’ territories in even wilder woods.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

“It is the wildest thing,” says Domingo, stretched out on a sectional in the shade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Wall Street endured a painful selloff on Wednesday, as new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh presided over one of the wildest Fed decision days for markets in recent memory.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

But rejecting 99.9% of applications isn’t even the wildest thing about the company’s hiring process.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

I was in awe of the fact that in 40 years of reporting on the White House I never once, in my wildest and most macabre hallucinations, dreamed up anything like that event.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

“Talk about wild things! Your grand-mother was the wildest, most untamed, most ornery and beautiful creature ever to grace this earth.”

From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech

Or is there space still wilded enough for fleeting magic in suburban sprawl?

From Salon ● May 10, 2024

"Hollywood is on time out. I'm just going to put that right to the camera. Hollywood is wilding right now."

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2024

“Our young people are out here wilding sometimes, and whatever it takes for us to get them under control, we have to do it,” he said.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 8, 2022

NP: Do you ever think about just wilding out on Twitter to compete with Elon directly?

From The Verge ● Jan. 25, 2022

That film shows news media at the turn of the century panting to tell a story about a star acting inappropriately, a party girl wilding out when she should have been at home.

From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2021

They were still wilding and messing with people and putting out squad tracts.

From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers

Related Words

• exciting
• far-out
• groovy
• interesting
• jazzy
• remarkable