wandering

1. 1
   adjective

   Moving from one place to another, instead of staying in one spot.

   Like a stray cat that never stays in one yard for long.

   The wandering dog had no home and slept in a different yard each night.

   A wandering salesman knocked on doors all over the small town.

   Similarnomadic, itinerant, roving, traveling

   Oppositesettled, sedentary

   Note
2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of wander. Use this -ing form when the action is happening now.

   The toddler kept wandering away from his parents at the fair.

   She was wandering through the market with no particular goal.

   Note
3. 3
   noununcountable

   Traveling around with no set plan about where to go.

   Like going for a walk with no map and no place you have to be.

   Their long wandering took them through three different countries.

   After years of wandering, she finally settled down in one town.

   Similarroaming, travel, roving, rambling

4. 4
   noununcountable

   When your mind drifts and your thoughts move with no clear aim.

   Like a balloon that drifts away when you let go of the string.

   His mind's wandering made it hard to follow the lesson.

   A moment of wandering during the meeting cost her the key detail.

   Similardaydreaming, distraction, reverie

   Oppositeconcentration, focus, attention

5. 5
   noununcountable

   Moving away from the path or behavior you are supposed to follow.

   Like stepping off the marked trail and getting lost in the woods.

   The teacher noticed the student's wandering from the assigned task.

   His wandering from the plan caused the whole group to get lost.

   Similardeviation, departure, straying, drift

6. 6
   noununcountable

   When an eye turns or moves in a way it should not.

   Like a compass needle that won't settle and keeps drifting.

   The doctor noticed a slight wandering in the child's left eye.

   His eye's wandering became clearer when he was tired.

   Similardrift, deviation

7. 7
   adjective

   Able to move around inside the body more than it normally should.

   Like a drawer that slides loose because nothing holds it in place.

   The surgeon explained that a wandering kidney can shift when the patient stands up.

   A wandering spleen sometimes moves down into the lower belly.

   Similarfloating

   Note
8. 8
   noununcountableplural

   Confused, mixed-up speech that happens when someone's mind is not clear.

   Like a radio that drifts off the station into noise.

   The fever brought on a wandering that frightened his family.

   By midnight her wandering made no sense to the nurses.

   Similardelirium, raving, rambling, incoherence

   Oppositelucidity, coherence

   Note

Showing meanings only. Show all 8