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.

The film’s merit is not simply in how it illustrates the structures that bind and confine, but in how Wilde propulsively peels them apart to create a picture of romantic neuroses anyone can relate to.

From Salon • Jul. 5, 2026

Best of all, Wilde wastes no time getting right down to it.

From Salon • Jul. 5, 2026

She concentrated on her theatre work, which Keith had continued to nurture alongside TV - particularly comedy classics from the likes of Noel Coward and Oscar Wilde.

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026

Director Olivia Wilde stars alongside Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton in a smart and surprising dinner-party dramedy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

The drugstore was coming in to help the doctors, but Dr. Wilde was one of the few to maintain his own dispensary and to compound his own prescriptions.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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