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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

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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

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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

But rest assured, we’ll be back in your inbox with more wild happenings on Monday.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

“We are so grateful for the crazy wild up and down journey that brought us to our little Philo! Family officially complete.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

The aim is to build up a population in Ghana that could be released into the wild.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

It has been a wild couple of days for the AI cloud-computing player.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Edamame and wild rice in a bowl with tender squash topped with lii pwayr—saskatoon berries—in a thick sauce, almost a gravy?

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

"Wild lions don't eat at the same time every day. They experience natural periods of feasting and fasting depending on hunting success," Hryhorenko said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 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

A bronze version of the statue, titled “Earth to City: Rhapsody of the Wild King,” will be installed in Griffith Park at a date yet to be announced.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

After a quiet conference with Wild, Shackleton announced his plan to the crew: they would march across the frozen sea with two of the three lifeboats to Paulet Island, 346 miles to the northwest.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

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

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

Sir David was close to home again for this series, which lifted the lid on the teeming activity that can make UK gardens just as fascinating as wilder and more exotic places.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

But there was another, wilder possibility that kept raising its head, though he tried vainly to suppress it.

From "1984" by George Orwell

"The wildest part was the riding at night in the jungle. The noise in there, your mind starts to play games," added Bottas.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

It all reduces to the promise of small daily actions that, over time, build into the conquest of your wildest dreams.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

But even at its wildest, the Amalfi never gets properly wild.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

But when the Tigers walloped Clemson 51-10 in the most anticipated matchup of college football’s opening weekend, Kiffin reminded the world that he isn’t content with being the craziest sideshow in America’s wildest sport.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

“The wildest of all our falcons, the one most intolerant of human beings, has discovered rats. She will be an enormous asset to Delhi.”

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

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

From Salon ● May 10, 2024

He’s also been wilding out on Truth Social, uncorking a series of posts that are unhinged, even for him.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2025

“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

Every night on Clubhouse, people are just wilding.

From The Verge ● Feb. 1, 2022

I was like, “They’re really wilding out here in New York.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2021

I guess dorm parties got old, so they’re wilding out on the subway instead—and were joining them, dammit.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

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