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
-
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:
“The Internet of Things is such a wild area that everything—whether you realize it or not—is an extension of your attack surface,” said Paul Caron, S-RM head of cyber for the Americas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Microsoft is closing in on $4 trillion territory for the first time in nearly a year, helping to cap a wild ride that’s seen the company find its way back into investors’ good graces.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
It seems like the NFL realized players could claim to have been demonstrating their love for anything from water to a wild huckleberry mint mojito mocktail and decided to let this one go.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
The WWF report highlighted other species recoveries around the world, including an increase of more than 70% in the number of wild tigers - from around 3,200 in 2010 to about 5,700 in 2025.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
It told the story of a joke run wild, and two girls taken advantage of by a much older sister.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
"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
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
The Boss wrote and signed a letter with his instructions: if he did not return with a relief ship, Wild was to take the men in the remaining two boats and try to save themselves.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Regulators are in a permissive phase, and that could be a bonanza for fund companies cooking up ever wilder ideas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 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
"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
His beard had grown wilder over the summer.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think that a solar project would be on my farm," Cargil says.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
“It is the wildest thing,” says Domingo, stretched out on a sectional in the shade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
The revenue for this summer’s World Cup went beyond FIFA’s wildest dreams, generating $15 billion in revenue, up from an earlier projection of $11 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 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
‘It’s the wildest one in the litter who’ll be leader of the pack someday.’
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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
“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
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
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
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.
