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WILD
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A wild and uninhabited area left in its natural condition
Example:
it was a wilderness preserved for the hawks and mountaineers
Synonyms:
wild; wilderness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("wild" is a kind of...):
geographic area; geographic region; geographical area; geographical region (a demarcated area of the Earth)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wild"):
barren; waste; wasteland (an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation)
bush (a large wilderness area)
frontier (a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country)
Derivation:
wild (located in a dismal or remote area; desolate)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A wild primitive state untouched by civilization
Example:
they collected mushrooms in the wild
Synonyms:
natural state; state of nature; wild
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("wild" is a kind of...):
state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "wild"):
crudeness; crudity; primitiveness; primitivism; rudeness (a wild or unrefined state)
Derivation:
wild (without civilizing influences)
wild (in a natural state; not tamed or domesticated or cultivated)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(of the elements) as if showing violent anger
Example:
the raging sea
Synonyms:
angry; furious; raging; tempestuous; wild
Classified under:
Similar:
stormy ((especially of weather) affected or characterized by storms or commotion)
Derivation:
wildness (the property of being wild or turbulent)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Without civilizing influences
Example:
wild tribes
Synonyms:
barbarian; barbaric; savage; uncivilised; uncivilized; wild
Classified under:
Similar:
noncivilised; noncivilized (not having a high state of culture and social development)
Derivation:
wild (a wild primitive state untouched by civilization)
wildness (an intractably barbarous or uncultivated state of nature)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Deviating widely from an intended course
Example:
he threw a wild pitch
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
uncontrolled (not being under control; out of control)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Intensely enthusiastic about or preoccupied with
Example:
gaga over the rock group's new album
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
enthusiastic (having or showing great excitement and interest)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Located in a dismal or remote area; desolate
Example:
waste places
Synonyms:
godforsaken; waste; wild
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
inhospitable (unfavorable to life or growth)
Derivation:
wild; wilderness (a wild and uninhabited area left in its natural condition)
Sense 6
Meaning:
(of colors or sounds) intensely vivid or loud
Example:
wild shouts
Synonyms:
violent; wild
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
intense (possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree)
Derivation:
wildness (the property of being wild or turbulent)
Sense 7
Meaning:
In a state of extreme emotion
Example:
wild with grief
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
passionate (having or expressing strong emotions)
Derivation:
wildness (a feeling of extreme emotional intensity)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Fanciful and unrealistic; foolish
Example:
a fantastic idea of his own importance
Synonyms:
fantastic; wild
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unrealistic (not realistic)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Involving risk or danger
Example:
a wild financial scheme
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
dangerous; unsafe (involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm)
Sense 10
Meaning:
Talking or behaving irrationally
Example:
a raving lunatic
Synonyms:
raving mad; wild
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
insane (afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement)
Sense 11
Meaning:
Without a basis in reason or fact
Example:
unwarranted jealousy
Synonyms:
baseless; groundless; idle; unfounded; unwarranted; wild
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unsupported (not sustained or maintained by nonmaterial aid)
Sense 12
Meaning:
In a natural state; not tamed or domesticated or cultivated
Example:
edible wild plants
Synonyms:
untamed; wild
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
feral; ferine; savage (wild and menacing)
semi-wild (partially wild)
unbroken (not subdued or trained for service or use)
undomesticated (not domesticated)
Also:
intractable (not tractable; difficult to manage or mold)
Attribute:
wildness (an intractably barbarous or uncultivated state of nature)
Antonym:
tame (brought from wildness into a domesticated state)
Derivation:
wild (a wild primitive state untouched by civilization)
wilderness (a wild and uninhabited area left in its natural condition)
Sense 13
Meaning:
Marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
Example:
wild parties
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
chaotic; disorderly (completely unordered and unpredictable and confusing)
delirious; excited; frantic; mad; unrestrained (marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion)
frenzied; manic (affected with or marked by frenzy or mania uncontrolled by reason)
unsubdued (not brought under control)
Also:
unquiet (characterized by unrest or disorder)
Antonym:
tame (very restrained or quiet)
Derivation:
wildness (an unruly disposition to do as one pleases)
III. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
In a wild or undomesticated manner
Example:
roaming wild
Classified under:
Pertainym:
wild (in a natural state; not tamed or domesticated or cultivated)
Sense 2
Meaning:
In an uncontrolled and rampant manner
Example:
weeds grew rampantly around here
Synonyms:
rampantly; wild
Classified under:
Context examples:
He often had a wild way of talking, so that I thought little of what he said.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He moaned so, and looked so weak, wild, and lost, I feared he was dying; and I might not even speak to him.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
He had lost his hat, and his hair, which had grown long in our wanderings, was flying in wild disorder.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Martin had been wild to see Ruth.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Human-animal collaboration in the wild is much rarer.
(How humans and wild Honeyguide birds call each other to help, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
I was like a wild beast then that had tasted blood.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
But now and then there came a deep growl from some wild animal hidden among the trees.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
"But have you not received my notes?" cried Marianne in the wildest anxiety.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
My wild words have frightened you.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Then we raced, and wildly, across the wild sea, the while I hung like a fly in the crosstrees and searched for the other boats.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
