characterized by or indicating violent feelings or excitement, as actions or a person's appearance: wild cries; a wild look.
frantic or distracted; crazy: to drive someone wild.
violently or uncontrollably affected: wild with rage; wild with pain.
undisciplined, unruly, or lawless: a gang of wild boys.
unrestrained, untrammeled, or unbridled: wild enthusiasm.
disregardful of moral restraints as to pleasurable indulgence: He repented his wild youth.
unrestrained by reason or prudence: wild schemes.
amazing or incredible: Isn't that wild about Bill getting booted out of the club?
disorderly or disheveled: wild hair.
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
in a wild manner; wildly.
noun
Often wilds. an uncultivated, uninhabited, or desolate region or tract; waste; wilderness; desert: a cabin in the wild; a safari to the wilds of Africa.
verb (used with object),wild·ed,wild·ing.
to travel around as a group, attacking or assaulting (people) in a random and violent way: The man was wilded and left for dead.
Idioms
blow wild, (of an oil or gas well) to spout in an uncontrolled way, as in a blowout.Compare blowout(def 4).
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.
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.
Origin of wild
before 900;Middle English,Old Englishwilde; cognate with Dutch,Germanwild,Old Norsevillr,Swedishvild,Gothicwiltheis
Jonathan. ?1682–1725, British criminal, who organized a network of thieves, highwaymen, etc, while also working as an informer: said to have sent over a hundred men to the gallows before being hanged himself
wild
adjective
(of animals) living independently of man; not domesticated or tame
(of plants) growing in a natural state; not cultivated
uninhabited or uncultivated; desolatea wild stretch of land
living in a savage or uncivilized waywild tribes
lacking restraintwild merriment
of great violence or intensitya wild storm
disorderly or chaoticwild thoughts; wild talk
dishevelled; untidywild hair
in a state of extreme emotional intensitywild with anger
recklesswild speculations
not calculated; randoma wild guess
unconventional; fantastic; crazywild friends
(postpositive foll by about) informalintensely enthusiastic or excited
(of a card, such as a joker or deuce in some games) able to be given any value the holder pleasesjacks are wild
wild and woolly
rough; untamed; barbarous
(of theories, plans, etc) not fully thought out
adverb
in a wild manner
run wild
to grow without cultivation or care
to behave without restraint
noun
(often plural)a desolate, uncultivated, or uninhabited region
"to run wild," Old English awildian (see wild (adj.)). Wilding in the teen gang sense first recorded 1989.
wild
adj.
Old English wilde "in the natural state, uncultivated, undomesticated," from Proto-Germanic *wilthijaz (cf. Old Saxon wildi, Old Norse villr, Old Frisian wilde, Dutch wild, Old High German wildi, German wild, Gothic wilþeis "wild," German Wild (n.) "game"), probably from PIE *ghwelt- (cf. Welsh gwyllt "untamed"), related to the base of Latin ferus (see fierce).
Ursula ... hath bin at all the Salsbury rasis, dancing like wild with Mr Clarks. [letter, 1674]
Meaning "sexually dissolute, loose" is attested from mid-13c. U.S. slang sense of "exciting, excellent" is recorded from 1955. The noun meaning "uncultivated or desolate region" is first attested 1590s in the wilds. Baseball wild pitch is recorded from 1867. Wildest dreams first attested 1961 (in Carson McCullers). Wild West first recorded 1849. Wild Turkey brand of whiskey (Austin Nichols Co.) in use from 1942.
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