wild
adjective
living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated.
wild
American
[wahyld]
/ waɪld /
adjective
-
wilder,
comparative
-
wildest
superlative
-
living in a state of nature; not tamed or domesticated.
a wild animal;
wild geese.
- Antonyms:
- tame
-
growing or produced without cultivation or the care of humans, as plants, flowers, fruit, or honey.
wild cherries.
-
uncultivated, uninhabited, or waste.
wild country.
-
uncivilized or barbarous.
wild tribes.
-
of unrestrained violence, fury, intensity, etc.; violent; furious.
wild strife;
wild storms.
- Synonyms:
- turbulent, frenzied, stormy, tempestuous
-
characterized by or indicating violent feelings or excitement, as actions or a person's appearance.
wild cries;
a wild look.
- Synonyms:
- boisterous
-
frantic or distracted; crazy.
to drive someone wild.
- Synonyms:
- insane
-
violently or uncontrollably affected.
wild with rage;
wild with pain.
-
undisciplined, unruly, or lawless.
a gang of wild boys.
- Synonyms:
- wayward, unrestrained, riotous, self-willed
-
unrestrained, untrammeled, or unbridled.
wild enthusiasm.
- Synonyms:
- uncontrollable
-
disregardful of moral restraints as to pleasurable indulgence.
He repented his wild youth.
-
unrestrained by reason or prudence.
wild schemes.
- Synonyms:
- rash, reckless, impracticable, extravagant
-
amazing or incredible.
Isn't that wild about Bill getting booted out of the club?
-
disorderly or disheveled.
wild hair.
- Synonyms:
- unkempt
-
wide of the mark.
He scored on a wild throw.
-
Informal. intensely eager or enthusiastic.
wild to get started;
wild about the new styles.
-
Cards. (of a card) having its value decided by the wishes of the players.
-
Metallurgy. (of molten metal) generating large amounts of gas during cooling, so as to cause violent bubbling.
adverb
noun
verb (used with object)
wilded,
wilding
idioms
-
run wild,
-
to grow unchecked.
The rambler roses are running wild.
-
to show lack of restraint or control.
Those children are allowed to run wild.
-
-
in the wild,
-
in a natural state or in the wilderness.
-
in the real world; in real life.
language learning in the classroom and in the wild.
-
-
blow wild, (of an oil or gas well) to spout in an uncontrolled way, as in a blowout.
wild
1
British
/ waɪld /
adjective
-
(of animals) living independently of man; not domesticated or tame
-
(of plants) growing in a natural state; not cultivated
-
uninhabited or uncultivated; desolate
a wild stretch of land
-
living in a savage or uncivilized way
wild tribes
-
lacking restraint
wild merriment
-
of great violence or intensity
a wild storm
-
disorderly or chaotic
wild thoughts
wild talk
-
dishevelled; untidy
wild hair
-
in a state of extreme emotional intensity
wild with anger
-
reckless
wild speculations
-
not calculated; random
a wild guess
-
unconventional; fantastic; crazy
wild friends
-
informal intensely enthusiastic or excited
-
(of a card, such as a joker or deuce in some games) able to be given any value the holder pleases
jacks are wild
-
-
rough; untamed; barbarous
-
(of theories, plans, etc) not fully thought out
-
adverb
-
in a wild manner
-
-
to grow without cultivation or care
-
to behave without restraint
-
noun
-
(often plural) a desolate, uncultivated, or uninhabited region
-
-
a free natural state of living
-
the wilderness
-
Wild
2
British
/ waɪld /
noun
wild
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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half-wildnessnoun
-
overwildnessnoun
-
semiwildnessnoun
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unwildnessnoun
-
wildnessnoun
-
half-wildadjective
-
overwildadjective
-
semiwildadjective
-
unwildadjective
-
wildishadjective
-
half-wildlyadverb
-
overwildlyadverb
-
semiwildlyadverb
-
unwildlyadverb
-
wildlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
Vocabulary lists containing wild
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.
See Examples For:
This year, Spasojevic and colleagues Ellie Armstrong and Kieran Samuk are also planning to use genetic technology to try to understand the origin of the Inland Empire’s wild donkey herd.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
More than 10 years after leaving the sport behind, he started the do-or-die Game 3 of the wild card series against the Philadelphia Phillies and allowed just one hit over 3 ⅓ shutout innings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Unconfirmed reports had suggested the woman fell ill either after breaking a test tube containing the pathogen or following a field trip to a region where plague is found naturally among wild rodents.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
They then went ahead to stay in the fifth on a line drive to left that Hernández misplayed into a triple, followed by reliever Kris Bubic’s wild pitch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Soon, Fairbanks was cornering office mates with wild talk about good and evil spirits.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Twelve of the 30 MLB teams qualified for the postseason, with four best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Some close to the industry say the DTC brands have given the market a bit of a Wild West feel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Wild orangutans have been put under pressure in recent weeks by forest fires that have plagued the region and consumed swathes of Borneo island.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
My last quote is a humblebrag for sure, from an email in 2012 where I hyped up the Wild Flag album to him, and he replied:
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
But every morning the ever-optimistic Wild rolled up his sleeping bag and said to the men, “Get your things ready, boys. The Boss may come today.”
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Things got even wilder once the film went into release: At a preview in California, a jeering audience spotted Warner Bros. executives and chased them out into the street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The roles turned out wilder and more varied than he might have expected but his seriousness and sense of fun never faded, pushing boundaries and himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Haigh says online comments about her hair colour encouraged her to make it "even wilder"
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
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
A hundred mad ideas pounded through his brain, each one wilder than the last.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
But what has really put Sequoia on the marmot-shenanigans map is their all-out assault on the parking lots bordering trailheads in the Mineral King Valley—one of the wildest parts of the park.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
“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 this is beyond the wildest dreams of Pentagons past.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Her face was the wildest thing he had ever seen, and she had Mal in her arms.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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
Also in the crowd: Olivia Rodrigo and Demi Lovato, the latter of whom posted a video on Instagram of the former wilding out to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2023
“It was such a magical moment, and so iconic what it represents for conservation and wilding in this country,” said Gibbs, who first spotted the baby bison on Sept. 9.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2022
NP: Do you ever think about just wilding out on Twitter to compete with Elon directly?
From The Verge ● Jan. 25, 2022
They were still wilding and messing with people and putting out squad tracts.
From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
