English
wild
see also: Wild
Pronunciation
  • enPR: wīld, IPA: /waɪld/, [waɪ̯ɫd], [ˈwaɪ̯.ɫ̩d]
Etymology 1

From Middle English wild, wilde, from Old English wilde, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-.

Cognate with Western Frisian wyld, Dutch wild, German wild, Danish vild, Swedish vild, Norwegian vill, Icelandic villtur.

Adjective

wild (comparative wilder, superlative wildest)

  1. Untamed; not domesticated; specifically, in an unbroken line of undomesticated animals (as opposed to feral, referring to undomesticated animals whose ancestors were domesticated).
    Antonyms: tame
    Przewalski's horses are the only remaining wild horses.
  2. From or relating to wild creatures.
    wild honey
  3. Unrestrained or uninhibited.
    I was filled with wild rage when I discovered the infidelity, and punched a hole in the wall.
  4. Raucous, unruly, or licentious.
    The fraternity was infamous for its wild parties, which frequently resulted in police involvement.
  5. (electrical engineering) 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.
  6. Visibly and overtly anxious; frantic.
    Her mother was wild with fear when she didn't return home after the party.
  7. Furious; very angry.
  8. Disheveled, tangled, or untidy.
    After a week on the trail without a mirror, my hair was wild and dirty.
  9. Enthusiastic.
    I'm not wild about the idea of a two day car trip with my nephews, but it's my only option.
  10. Very inaccurate; far off the mark.
    The novice archer fired a wild shot and hit her opponent's target.
  11. Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered.
    a wild roadstead
  12. (nautical, of a vessel) Hard to steer.
  13. (mathematics, of a knot) Not capable of being represented as a finite closed polygonal chain.
    Antonyms: tame
  14. (slang) Amazing, awesome, unbelievable.
    Did you hear? Pat won the lottery! — Wow, that's wild!
  15. 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.
  16. Of an audio recording: intended to be synchronized with film or video but recorded separately.
    a wild track; wild sound
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Adverb

wild (not comparable)

  1. Inaccurately; not on target.
    The javelin flew wild and struck a spectator, to the horror of all observing.
  2. (of an audio recording) Intended to be synchronized with film or video but recorded separately.
    Let's record it wild.
Noun

wild (plural wilds)

  1. (singular, with "the") The undomesticated state of a wild animal.
    After mending the lion's leg, we returned him to the wild.
  2. (chiefly, in the plural) A wilderness.
Verb

wild (wilds, present participle wilding; simple past and past participle wilded)

  1. (intransitive, slang) To commit random acts of assault, robbery, and rape in an urban setting, especially as a gang.
  2. (intransitive, slang) (In the form wilding or wildin') To act in a strange or unexpected way.
Noun

wild (plural wilds)

  1. Alternative form of weald
Wild
Proper noun
  1. Surname originally referring to a wild person, or for someone living in uncultivated land.


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