a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a tract of wasteland.
a tract of land officially designated as such and protected by the U.S. government.
any desolate tract, as of open sea.
a part of a garden set apart for plants growing with unchecked luxuriance.
a bewildering mass or collection.
a wild, uninhabited, and uncultivated region
any desolate tract or area
a confused mass or collection
a person, group, etc, making a suggestion or plea that is ignored
no longer having influence, recognition, or publicity
See desert 1.
1150–1200; Middle English; Old English *wil ( d ) dēornes, equivalent to either wil ( d ) dēor wild beast ( see 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
If you don’t mow your lawn all summer, don’t be surprised if your neighbors complain that it resembles a wilderness, a wild area that is not tended by humans. The wilderness is of course filled with many animals, but did you know that the name of an animal is hidden in the word wilderness? The word actually is a combination of wild plus the Old English word dēor, along with the ending -ness, used in nouns that refer to a certain condition. While dēor eventually turned into our modern word deer, it didn’t refer to the antlered Bambi we imagine. It was simply the word for “animal.”
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Whittaker testified before Congress in 1968, and his advocacy helped establish North Cascades National Park and the Pasayten Wilderness in Washington state, as well as Redwood National Park in California.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
The land abutting the Pinto Mountains Wilderness is also home to badgers, bighorn sheep and Mojave fringe-toed lizards.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park was closed until further notice after people reported two mountain lion sightings, one of which was captured on video and featured unusual behavior, officials said.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2025
New itineraries from Wilderness Travel include an eclipse viewing from a hilltop winery bookended by days of eating and hiking in the region.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 20, 2025
“Can’t leave Wilderness Adventures without having some more s’mores.”
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
