# wild

Pronunciation: say "WYLD" /waɪld/

## Adjective

1. Living or growing in a natural state, not tamed or raised by humans: whether native to the wild or having reverted after escaping domestic life.
   - Simple: Living and growing in nature, not kept or raised by people.
   - _Conservationists tracked a herd of wild elephants through the reserve._
   - _Some of these wild goats descend from animals that wandered off farms generations ago._
2. Free from restraint or inhibition; acting without the usual checks on behavior.
   - Simple: Behaving freely, with no control holding it back.
   - _Their wild dancing carried on long after the music stopped._
   - _Away from her strict parents for the first time, she let her wild side out and danced on tables until dawn._
3. Astonishing, outrageous, or hard to believe, sometimes in an impressive way. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Very surprising, strange, or amazing, as in that's wild.
   - _It's wild how fast the rumor spread through the whole town._
   - _The ending of that movie was wild. Nobody saw it coming._
5. Raucous and unruly, or marked by a lack of moral restraint.
   - Simple: Loud, rough, and out of control.
   - _The bar grew wild and rowdy well past midnight._
   - _He looked back on his wild years with a mix of pride and regret._
7. Originating from or connected to creatures that live untamed in nature.
   - Simple: Coming from or having to do with animals that live in nature.
   - _The lodge served wild venison and foraged mushrooms for dinner._
   - _Many chefs say wild venison has a richer flavor than meat from farmed deer._
8. Greatly inaccurate; far off the intended mark.
   - Simple: Very far from being correct or on target.
   - _The pitcher's wild throw went nowhere near the base._
   - _His first throw was so wild that it sailed over the catcher and into the stands._
13. Made hastily and with little evidence or reflection to support it, said of a guess, claim, or accusation.
   - Simple: Of a guess or claim: made carelessly, without much proof or thought behind it.
   - _The senator dismissed the report as a collection of wild accusations._
   - _Investors panicked after wild rumors spread that the bank was about to fail._
9. Able to stand in for any other item, such as a card in a game or a character in a computer search pattern.
   - Simple: Able to take the place of any other card, letter, or value.
   - _The dealer announced that one-eyed jacks were wild._
   - _We played poker with deuces wild, so every two in the deck could stand for any card a player needed._
10. Still in a natural condition, unchanged by development and home to few or no people; said of land, scenery, or rivers.
   - Simple: Of land, scenery, or a river: still natural and not built on, with few or no people living there.
   - _The northern coast remains wild, its cliffs and coves reachable only on foot._
   - _Some of the wildest land in the state lies just a few hours from the capital._
11. Full of eager enthusiasm or excitement for something.
   - Simple: Very excited and full of liking for something.
   - _She's absolutely wild about old horror films from the seventies._
   - _Readers went wild for the author's long-awaited sequel._
12. Untidy and tangled; in a disordered, unkempt state.
   - Simple: Messy and tangled, not neat.
   - _Her wild curls blew in every direction during the storm._
   - _She smoothed down her wild hair before walking into the interview._
14. Stormy and violent, with strong, irregular movement; said of weather, wind, or the sea.
   - Simple: Of weather, wind, or the sea: very stormy and rough.
   - _Wild weather closed the mountain passes for most of the week._
   - _The ferry was canceled because the sea had grown wilder by the hour._
15. Visibly frantic; overtly anxious or distressed.
   - Simple: Looking very worried and unable to stay calm.
   - _His wild, panicked eyes darted across the crowded platform._
   - _The passengers grew wild with fear as the plane lurched._
16. In a state of furious, uncontrolled anger.
   - Simple: Feeling very angry.
   - _The manager was wild with rage over the missed deadline._
   - _When he learned his business partner had emptied their account, he was wild with rage and could barely speak._
19. Open to the full force of the wind and sea, and offering no shelter.
   - Simple: Open to the wind and sea, with nothing to give shelter.
   - _The lighthouse stands on a wild promontory battered by Atlantic gales._
   - _We found the anchorage too wild to stay overnight, fully exposed to the swell._

## Noun

4. The natural, untamed condition in which an animal lives free of human control.
   - Simple: The natural, free life of animals that live away from people and are not controlled by them.
   - _Conservationists returned the rehabilitated eagle to the wild after months of care._
   - _Animals raised entirely in captivity rarely adapt well to the wild._
6. An untamed region of natural land, far from human settlement.
   - Simple: A large area of land left in its natural state, with no people or buildings.
   - _The cabin sat deep in the wild, miles from the nearest road._
   - _After two weeks hiking through the wilds of Montana, the travelers were glad to see a paved road again._

## Adverb

17. In a manner that misses the mark or strays well off the intended target.
   - Simple: In a way that misses the target or goes off course.
   - _The pitch sailed wild, well past the catcher's outstretched glove._
   - _Her first few shots went wild before she finally found her aim._

## Verb

18. To behave in a strange or unexpected manner. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To act in a strange or surprising way that catches people off guard.
   - _She's been wilding all week, saying things nobody expects._
   - _The whole crew started wilding once the music dropped._
20. To roam an urban area, especially in a gang, committing random acts of assault, robbery, and rape. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To roam a city in a gang, randomly attacking, robbing, and assaulting people.

## Noun

21. Another spelling of weald: a forest, woodland, or open country. Archaic. *(archaic)* — Alternative form of weald.
   - Simple: Another spelling of weald: a forest, woods, or open land. This spelling is very old and no longer used.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Recorded apart from the picture but meant to be synced with film or video afterward; said of an audio recording.
- (adverb) Apart from the picture, for synchronizing with film or video later; said of an audio recording.
- (adjective) Having a frequency that is neither regulated nor constant, said of an electrical supply.
- (adjective) Difficult to steer or hold on a steady course, said of a ship or boat.
- (adjective) Describing a mathematical knot that cannot be represented by any closed chain made of finitely many straight segments.

## Origin

From Middle English "wild," from Old English "wilde," going back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root. It is related to Dutch "wild," German "wild," Danish "vild," and Swedish "vild."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/wild (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).