wilderness

¹ American  

[wil-der-nis] / ˈwɪl dər nɪs /

noun

1. a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a tract of wasteland.

2. a tract of land officially designated as such and protected by the U.S. government.

3. any desolate tract, as of open sea.

4. a part of a garden set apart for plants growing with unchecked luxuriance.

5. a bewildering mass or collection.

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Wilderness ² American  

[wil-der-nis] / ˈwɪl dər nɪs /

noun

1. a wooded area in NE Virginia: several battles fought here in 1864 between armies of Grant and Lee.

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wilderness ¹ British  

/ ˈwɪldənɪs /

noun

1. a wild, uninhabited, and uncultivated region

2. any desolate tract or area

3. a confused mass or collection

4. a person, group, etc, making a suggestion or plea that is ignored

5. no longer having influence, recognition, or publicity

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Wilderness ² British  

/ ˈwɪldənɪs /

noun

1. the barren regions to the south and east of Palestine, esp those in which the Israelites wandered before entering the Promised Land and in which Christ fasted for 40 days and nights

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Related Words

See desert ¹.

Etymology

Origin of wilderness

1150–1200; Middle English; Old English *wil ( d ) dēornes, equivalent to either wil ( d ) dēor wild beast ( wild, deer ) + -nes -ness, or wilddēoren wild, savage ( wilddēor + -en -en ² ) + ( -n ) es -ness; probably reinforced by Middle English wildernes, genitive of wildern wilderness (noun use of Old English wilddēoren ), in phrases like wildernes land land of wilderness

Example Sentences

Nature and the wilderness will continue to be the most satisfying and most reinvigorating way to spend our leisure time.

From The Wall Street Journal

Fewer can afford much else, let alone purchase hundreds of acres of unspoiled wilderness.

From Salon

The two had been 14 hours into the Inuvik Weekend Warrior Fat Bike Challenge - a three-day cycle across frozen rivers, remote highways and Canada's Arctic wilderness - when they were forced to withdraw.

From BBC

Sometimes hungry villagers walk for more than three hours into the wilderness before locating the trees.

From BBC

He could not wait to show me the salmon and the black bears, and everything in the Canadian wilderness that he had told me so much about.

From Literature

Related Words

• back country
• desert
• forest
• jungle
• outback
• wasteland