Wilde

American

[wahyld] / waɪld /

noun

Oscar (Fingal O'Flahertie Wills) Sebastian Melmoth, 1854–1900, Irish poet, dramatist, novelist, essayist, and critic.

Wilde British

/ waɪld /

noun

Oscar ( Fingal O'Flahertie Wills ). 1854–1900, Irish writer and wit, famous for such plays as Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) and The Importance of being Earnest (1895). The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) is a macabre novel about a hedonist and The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898) relates to his experiences in prison while serving a two-year sentence for homosexuality

"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

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.

So Wilde Brands declares that “it’s time for a protein snack that doesn’t taste like cardboard.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

Wilde navigates the tonal shifts with authority, delivering surprises along the way, including an ending that somehow delivers hope for the institution of wedlock.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

An unhinged Olivia Wilde as the ultimate bad boss — an art star hoping to recapture some edge — gets you in the door.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

"Our destinies as nations have been interlinked. As Oscar Wilde said, 'We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language!'"

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

“And we now pay our black and white managers the same,” Mr. Wilde boasted.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023