wild

wild [wīld]

adj.

[ME wilde < OE, akin to Ger wild, prob. < IE base * wel-, shaggy hair, unkempt > WOOL, VOLE¹]

1. living or growing in its original, natural state and not normally domesticated or cultivated [wild flowers, wild animals]

2. not lived in or cultivated; overgrown, waste, etc. [wild land]

3. not civilized; savage [a wild tribe]

4. not easily restrained or regulated; not controlled or controllable; unruly, rough, lawless, etc. [wild children]

5. characterized by a lack of social or moral restraint; unbridled in pursuing pleasure; dissolute, orgiastic, etc. [a wild rake, a wild party]

6. violently disturbed; turbulent; stormy [a wild seacoast]

7. in a state of intense excitement; specif.,

a) eager or enthusiastic, as with desire or anticipation [wild with delight]

b) angered, frenzied, frantic, crazed, etc. [wild with desperation]

8. in a state of disorder, disarrangement, confusion, etc. [wild hair]

9. fantastically impractical; visionary [a wild scheme]

10. showing a lack of sound judgment; reckless; imprudent [a wild wager]

11. going wide of the mark aimed at; missing the target [a wild swing in boxing]

12. Slang extraordinary; remarkable [a wild success]

13. Card Games having any value specified by the holder: said of a card [deuces, when wild in poker, may be counted as aces, kings, etc.]

adv.

in a wild manner; wildly; without aim or control [to shoot wild]

n.

[usually pl.] a wilderness or wasteland

a wilderness or wasteland

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run wild

to grow, exist, or behave without control

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the wild

the wilderness, nature, the out-of-doors, etc.

wildly

adv.

wildness

n.