wild en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈwaɪ̯ld/
- /ˈwaːld/ (General-South-African, Southern-US)
- [ˈwaːld] (General-South-African, Southern-US)
- [ˈwaɪ̯ld]
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Middle English weilde, wield, wielde, wijlde, wild, wilde, wyld, wylde, wyled, wyyld, from Old English wilde, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz (“wild”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“hair; wool”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian wil (“wild”), Saterland Frisian wíeld, wüüld (“wild”), West Frisian wyld (“wild”), Bavarian wüd (“wild”), Central Franconian weld (“wild”), Cimbrian bill (“crazy, mad; wild; stupid”), Dutch, German, and Low German wild (“wild”), Luxembourgish wëll (“wild; savage”), Vilamovian wyłd (“wild”), Yiddish ווילד (vild, “wild; savage”), Danish and Swedish vild (“wild”), Faroese villur (“wild”), Icelandic villtur (“wild; lost; barbaric, savage; uncultivated; untamed”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk vill (“wild”), vill (“lost”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (wilþeis, “wild”); also Cornish gwlan (“wool”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic olann (“wool”), Manx ollan (“wool”), Welsh gwlân (“wool”), Latin vellus (“fleece, wool”), villus (“hair, shaggy hair”), Ancient Greek λάχνη (lákhnē, “woolly hair; thin hair; soft nap or pile on cloth; quills hedgehog; leafage”), Lithuanian valai (“hair of the horse tail”), Belarusian во́лас (vólas, “single hair”), Czech and Slovak vlas (“single hair”), Macedonian влас (vlas, “fluff; thread (of hair)”), Polish włos (“single hair”), Russian and Ukrainian во́лос (vólos, “single hair”), Serbo-Croatian вла̑с, vlȃs (“single hair”), Slovene las (“hair on top of head; nap, pile”), Armenian գեղմ (geġm, “fleece, wool”), Central Kurdish پرچ (pirç, “fax, headhair”), Northern Kurdish hirî (“wool”), Persian گرس (gors, “curl, ringlet; braid”), Hittite 𒋠𒀸 (SÍG-aš, “wool”), Tocharian A urṇ (“the circles of white hair between the brows of the Buddha or other deity”), Tocharian B *ūrṇ (“the circles of white hair between the brows of the Buddha or other deity”), Sanskrit वल्श (valśa, “branch, shoot, twig”).
Meanings
-
Untamed; not domesticated. ▸ Especially, being of the wild type: being of an unbroken ancestral line of undomesticated animals, as opposed to being feral, being an undomesticated animal whose ancestors were domesticated.
noli me tangere for Ceſars I ame and wylde for to hold though I ſeme tame
c. 1527–1542, Thomas Wyatt, “Who so list to hounte”, in Egerton MS 2711, page 7v:Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.
2013 May–June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:Thee Shepherd, thee the Woods, and deſert caves, / With wilde Thyme and the gadding Vine o'regrown,
1637 (date written; published 1638), John Milton, “Lycidas”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC, page 58:Przewalski's horses are the only remaining wild horses, although there are many feral horses throughout the world.
In this region, the wild boars can be dangerous, but (perhaps counterintuitively) the feral hogs can be even worse.
Near-synonym: indigenous
Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that way.
c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:Their flowers range from the rather formal blossoming of outer London to the wilder flowering of the country, where willow-herb and broom, traveller's joy and campion, go rioting over the chalky banks of the Metropolitan Line.
1950 July, “Traveller's Joy”, in Railway Magazine, page ii (advertisement):
- Untamed; not domesticated. ▸ Being in the wild, by any pathway (whether by being of the wild type, by being feral since birth, or by being feral after escape from domesticated life).
-
From or relating to wild creatures.
wild honey
-
Unrestrained or uninhibited.
I was filled with wild rage when I discovered the infidelity, and punched a hole in the wall.
Forgive these wild and wandering cries, Confusions of a wasted youth; Forgive them where they fail in truth, And in thy wisdom make me wise.
1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Prologue”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
-
Raucous, unruly, or licentious.
Those most rural routes will not get overhead wires. As Reeve told the seminar: "Even in my wildest dreams, I can't see a business case for electrifying the Far North Line."
2022 August 10, Philip Haigh, “Scotland switched on to electrification”, in RAIL, number 963, page 35:The fraternity was infamous for its wild parties, which frequently resulted in police involvement.
-
Of unregulated and varying frequency.
The aircraft's navigational equipment should not be powered from the wild AC bus except in an emergency, as its computers can be damaged by variations in electrical frequency.
-
Visibly and overtly anxious; frantic.
Her mother was wild with fear when she didn't return home after the party.
City, in contrast, were lethargic in every area of the pitch and their main contribution in the first half-hour was to keep referee Phil Dowd busy, with Micah Richards among four of their players booked early on, in his case for a wild lunge on Young.
2011 August 7, Chris Bevan, “Man City 2-3 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport:
- Furious; very angry.
-
Disheveled, tangled, or untidy.
After a week on the trail without a mirror, my hair was wild and dirty.
-
Enthusiastic.
I'm not wild about the idea of a two day car trip with my nephews, but it's my only option.
-
Very inaccurate; far off the mark.
The novice archer fired a wild shot and hit her opponent's target.
-
Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered.
a wild roadstead
- (of a vessel) Hard to steer.
- (of a knot) Not capable of being represented as a finite closed polygonal chain.
-
(slang) Amazing, awesome, unbelievable.
Did you hear? Pat won the lottery! — Wow, that's wild!
- (slang) Very unexpected; wildly surprising; crazy, diabolical.
-
Able to stand in for others, e.g. a card in games, or a text character in computer pattern matching.
In this card game, aces are wild: they can take the place of any other card.
We define a pattern as a valid GP subtree that might contain wild characters [i.e. wildcards] in any of its nodes.
2009, Leonardo Vanneschi, Steven Gustafson, Alberto Moraglio, Genetic Programming: 12th European Conference:
-
Of an audio recording: intended to be synchronized with film or video but recorded separately.
a wild track; wild sound
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wilder | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| wilde | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| wildest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| wyld | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |
Antonyms
domesticated · tame · tame · docile · broken · tame · tame
Coordinates
Deriveds
wildlife · African wild ass · wild strawberry · wild plum · wild candytuft · wildflower · African wild donkey · wild thyme · wild wee · wildly · wild elder · wild foxtail millet · Wild Dog Valley · wildish · wild cumin · wild hyacinth · common wild oat · wild cherry · wild land · wild cabbage · wild leek · wildland · wild woman · wilding · wild-ass · wild pig · wild geranium · deuces wild · wild-card · Wild Cattle Creek · semi-wild · wild buckwheat · wild feed · wild endive · wild mustard · wild succory · wild bachelor's button · wild track · wild orange · wild ass · wild radish · go wild · wild flax · wild and woolly · wild-man · wild almond · wild sweet potato · wild man syndrome · wild spinach · wild swimming · sow one's wild oats · American wild plum · wild vanilla · wild as a wet hen · wild rice · wild blueberry · Asian wild horse · walk on the wild side · wild bugloss · wilderness · wild hair · wild peach · wild marjoram · ham wild · wild carrot · wild pieplant · run wild · wild flower · wild indigo · wild cotton · wildstyle · wild life · wildfire · wild oats · wild ginger · hog-wild · wild Irishman · wild and wooly · wild dill · wild horse · Somali wild ass · wild pigeon · wild olive · wild mango · wild man · wild rye · common wild quinine · wild cat · wild chamomile · wild Syrian rue · wild-goose plum · wild bergamot · wild blue yonder · in the wild · wild dog · wild balsam apple · wild garlic · wild as a Tuckernuck steer · wild licorice · wildcrafting · wildebeest · wild teasel · wild mare's milk · wildcard · wild purslane · wild oat · wild mangosteen · wildfowl · wild out · wild-caught · wild child · take a walk on the wild side · wildness · wildcatter · wild take · wild river · wild-cat · wild aneth · wild drake · wild pellitory · wild boar · wild soursop · wild custard apple · wild pitch · wild turkey · wild lily-of-the-valley · Mongolian wild horse · wild tobacco · wild celery · wild lettuce · wild cane · wild guess · wild betel · wild animal · wild type · wild eggplant · wild senna · Wild West · wild weasel · wild rue · wildcat · wild thing · wildest · wild quinine · wild allspice · wildwood · wild stonecrop · wild pansy · wild onion dinner · wild card · wild mammee · wild ox · wilden · wild potato vine · wild cucumber · wild haggis · wild passionfruit · sow wild oats · wild sports · wild line · wild chicory · wild pig syndrome · wild plantain · wild onion · wildcat strike · wild goose · wild ipecacuanha · wild loquat · wild asparagus · wild rosemary · wilder · wild-animal · wild-eyed · wild Spaniard · wild basil · wild potato · wild service tree · wild bachelor's-button · wild mint · wild-type · wild duck · wild goat · wild yam · wild rhubarb · wild bean · wild pointer · wild turmeric · half-wild · wild pink · buck wild
Hyponyms
Relateds
aggressive · animalistic · fierce · animallike
Synonyms
indomite · untamed · wild · rampant · feral · uplandish · grim · incessive · volatile · indomite · savage · indomite · indigenous · savage · wild · ferocious · tameless · rabid · raging · raging · ferine · infuriate · tameless · fierce · feral · feral · untame · tameless · furious · fierce · rabid
Translations (228)
eo sovaĝa (raucous, unruly, and savage) · ro dezlănțuit (unrestrained or uninhibited) · grc ἄγριος (not domesticated or tamed) · oc sauvatge (not domesticated or tamed) · te పిచ్చి (not domesticated or tamed) · cs divoký (not domesticated or tamed) · as বনৰীয়া (not domesticated or tamed) · ky жапайы (not domesticated or tamed) · is villtur (not domesticated or tamed) · fr déchaîné (unrestrained or uninhibited) · kum уялчан (not domesticated or tamed) · roa-tar servagge (not domesticated or tamed) · as বৰ্বৰ (raucous, unruly, and savage) · prg pausts (not domesticated or tamed) · rup aghru (not domesticated or tamed) · kum къолгъа уьйренмеген (not domesticated or tamed) · sv vild (not domesticated or tamed) · izh diikkoi (not domesticated or tamed) · la immanis (raucous, unruly, and savage) · kum чыгъынсыз (not domesticated or tamed) · sh neobuzdan (not domesticated or tamed) · sc spédriu (not domesticated or tamed) · gl salvaxe (raucous, unruly, and savage) · fi raju (raucous, unruly, and savage) · liv mõtsā- (not domesticated or tamed) · hy վայրի (not domesticated or tamed) · scn sarbaggiu (not domesticated or tamed) · ca salvatge (not domesticated or tamed) · rm selvadi (not domesticated or tamed) · tly vəhşi (not domesticated or tamed) · es salvaje (not domesticated or tamed) · hu vad (raucous, unruly, and savage) · pt selvagem (raucous, unruly, and savage) · kum мююшбаш (not domesticated or tamed) · alt казыр (not domesticated or tamed) · mi mohoao (not domesticated or tamed) · sh divljački (not domesticated or tamed) · tl ligaw (not domesticated or tamed) · oc salvatge (not domesticated or tamed) · pt silvestre (not domesticated or tamed) · hi जंगली (not domesticated or tamed) · io sovaja (not domesticated or tamed) · sc eremidu (not domesticated or tamed) · ro sălbatic (raucous, unruly, and savage) · lv meža (not domesticated or tamed) · got 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌸𐌹𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (not domesticated or tamed) · prg paustan (not domesticated or tamed) · txb col (not domesticated or tamed) · bg див (not domesticated or tamed) · mk ра́зузден (raucous, unruly, and savage) · la ferus (not domesticated or tamed) · kum тюрлю (not domesticated or tamed) · th ป่า (not domesticated or tamed) · de wild (not domesticated or tamed) · fi hurja (raucous, unruly, and savage) · ca salvatge (raucous, unruly, and savage) · arz بري (not domesticated or tamed) · he פֶּרֶא (not domesticated or tamed) · vi hoang dã (not domesticated or tamed) · qu purun (not domesticated or tamed) · la saevus (raucous, unruly, and savage) · tl maliyap (not domesticated or tamed) · de wild (raucous, unruly, and savage) · ar مُتَوَحِّش (not domesticated or tamed) · af wild (not domesticated or tamed) · fi kesytön (not domesticated or tamed) · ja 野生の (not domesticated or tamed) · hy վայրենի (raucous, unruly, and savage) · ml വന്യ (not domesticated or tamed) · ko 길들여지지 않은 (not domesticated or tamed) · da vild (raucous, unruly, and savage) · mk див (not domesticated or tamed) · ga amhsach (raucous, unruly, and savage) · ajp بري (not domesticated or tamed) · alt јерлик (not domesticated or tamed) · nl wild (not domesticated or tamed) · ml കാട്ട് (not domesticated or tamed) · cmn 野生 (not domesticated or tamed) · cmn 狂野 (raucous, unruly, and savage) · qu sallqa (not domesticated or tamed) · el άγριος (not domesticated or tamed) · tr yabani (not domesticated or tamed) · bcl maulam (not domesticated or tamed) · sh необуздан (not domesticated or tamed) · he פֶּרֶא (raucous, unruly, and savage) · kk жабайы (not domesticated or tamed) · alt уйалчак (not domesticated or tamed) · cy gwyllt (not domesticated or tamed) · pam lasip (not domesticated or tamed) · mi pāwhara (not domesticated or tamed) · pl dziki (not domesticated or tamed) · bg подивял (raucous, unruly, and savage) · sh divalj (raucous, unruly, and savage) · cic imilhlha (unrestrained or uninhibited) · mi kuwao (not domesticated or tamed) · cic imilhlha (not domesticated or tamed) · hu vad (not domesticated or tamed) · gl fero (not domesticated or tamed) · sh divalj (not domesticated or tamed) · bg буен (unrestrained or uninhibited) · ota آزولو (raucous, unruly, and savage) · mn зэрлэг (not domesticated or tamed) · as বনজ (not domesticated or tamed) · alt калју (not domesticated or tamed) · ro sălbatic (not domesticated or tamed) · sh дивљачки (not domesticated or tamed) · kum бош къоркъунчлу (not domesticated or tamed) · ttt vəhşi (not domesticated or tamed) · sh дивљи (not domesticated or tamed) · ccc matitu (raucous, unruly, and savage) · ms liar (not domesticated or tamed) · he בַּר (not domesticated or tamed) · got 𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹𐍃 (not domesticated or tamed) · fi villi (raucous, unruly, and savage) · ht sovaj (not domesticated or tamed) · sh диваљ (not domesticated or tamed) · swb nyeha (not domesticated or tamed) · mi taewao (not domesticated or tamed) · la ferus (raucous, unruly, and savage) · es fiero (raucous, unruly, and savage) · mi tūwā (not domesticated or tamed) · nl wild (raucous, unruly, and savage) · rm sulvedi (not domesticated or tamed) · alt кижи јӱрбеген (not domesticated or tamed) · it selvatico (not domesticated or tamed) · pox dai̯vĕ (not domesticated or tamed) · ru буйный (unrestrained or uninhibited) · sk divoký (not domesticated or tamed) · kum къутургъан (not domesticated or tamed) · sh диваљ (raucous, unruly, and savage) · mnw ဂြိုပ် (not domesticated or tamed) · sk divý (not domesticated or tamed) · enm wilde (unrestrained or uninhibited) · kum башсыз (not domesticated or tamed) · alt кийик (not domesticated or tamed) · pl dziki (raucous, unruly, and savage) · pt selvagem (not domesticated or tamed) · liv mõtsāli (not domesticated or tamed) · scn sarvaggiu (not domesticated or tamed) · kum къыр (not domesticated or tamed) · rup ayru (not domesticated or tamed) · la crudelis (raucous, unruly, and savage) · mfe sovaz (not domesticated or tamed) · sq egër (not domesticated or tamed) · ota وحشی (raucous, unruly, and savage) · gl bravo (not domesticated or tamed) · fi hillitön (raucous, unruly, and savage) · cic imilhlha (raucous, unruly, and savage) · sh разуздан (raucous, unruly, and savage) · es salvaje (raucous, unruly, and savage) · prg pausto (not domesticated or tamed) · sh divlji (not domesticated or tamed) · grc ἄγριος (raucous, unruly, and savage) · it selvaggio (not domesticated or tamed) · rm salvadi (not domesticated or tamed) · enm wilde (not domesticated or tamed) · es desmadrado (unrestrained or uninhibited) · lv mežonīgs (not domesticated or tamed) · sh razuzdan (raucous, unruly, and savage) · lt laukinis (not domesticated or tamed) · kum авлакъ (not domesticated or tamed) · ka ველური (not domesticated or tamed) · az vəhşi (not domesticated or tamed) · ang wilde (not domesticated or tamed) · gd fiadhaich (not domesticated or tamed) · fa وحشی (not domesticated or tamed) · kum адамсыз (not domesticated or tamed) · vec salvadego (not domesticated or tamed) · no vill (raucous, unruly, and savage) · io sovaja (raucous, unruly, and savage) · uk ди́кий (not domesticated or tamed) · no vill (not domesticated or tamed) · ast salvaxe (not domesticated or tamed) · alt эмтик (not domesticated or tamed) · kum тамаша (not domesticated or tamed) · da vild (not domesticated or tamed) · tl mailap (not domesticated or tamed) · cmn 野 (not domesticated or tamed) · bg неистов (raucous, unruly, and savage) · fi villi- (not domesticated or tamed) · lo ປ່າ (not domesticated or tamed) · fur salvadi (not domesticated or tamed) · arz شموس (not domesticated or tamed) · ga fiáin (raucous, unruly, and savage) · ko 야생의 (not domesticated or tamed) · th เถื่อน (raucous, unruly, and savage) · alt ойлоок (not domesticated or tamed) · cy diddofi (not domesticated or tamed) · izh villi (not domesticated or tamed) · fi villi (not domesticated or tamed) · lb wëll (not domesticated or tamed) · ru ди́кий (not domesticated or tamed) · it selvaggio (raucous, unruly, and savage) · ota آزغین (unrestrained or uninhibited) · kum вагьши (not domesticated or tamed) · fa دد (not domesticated or tamed) · enm wilde (raucous, unruly, and savage) · mi tūperepere (raucous, unruly, and savage) · be дзі́кі (not domesticated or tamed) · et metsik (not domesticated or tamed) · pt bravio (not domesticated or tamed) · rm sulvadi (not domesticated or tamed) · alt ээн (not domesticated or tamed) · fr sauvage (raucous, unruly, and savage) · bg необуздан (unrestrained or uninhibited) · la ferōx (not domesticated or tamed) · fi villi (unrestrained or uninhibited) · ar بَرِّيّ (not domesticated or tamed) · gd fiadhaich (raucous, unruly, and savage) · la silvestris (not domesticated or tamed) · fi hillitön (unrestrained or uninhibited) · el ανήμερος (raucous, unruly, and savage) · gl fero (raucous, unruly, and savage) · vec salbego (not domesticated or tamed) · ast montés (not domesticated or tamed) · tr vahşi (not domesticated or tamed) · gl salvaxe (not domesticated or tamed) · qu k'ita (not domesticated or tamed) · sl divji (not domesticated or tamed) · gd allaidh (not domesticated or tamed) · fr sauvage (not domesticated or tamed) · ur جنگلی (not domesticated or tamed) · es montaraz (not domesticated or tamed) · sc spérdiu (not domesticated or tamed) · as জংঘলী (not domesticated or tamed) · it brado (not domesticated or tamed) · mk ра́здивен (raucous, unruly, and savage) · rm salvatg (not domesticated or tamed)