1
b
: having no just foundation or provocation : malicious
a wanton attack
2
: being without check or limitation: such as
a
: unduly lavish : extravagant
wanton imagination
b
: luxuriantly rank
wanton vegetation
4
a
: playfully mean or cruel : mischievous
b
archaic
: hard to control : undisciplined, unruly
wantonly
adverb
1
a
: one given to self-indulgent flirtation or trifling
—used especially in the phrase play the wanton
b
: a lewd or lascivious person
2
: a pampered person or animal : pet
especially
: a spoiled child
3
: a frolicsome child or animal
wantoned; wantoning; wantons
: to be wanton or act wantonly (see wanton entry 1)
: to pass or waste wantonly or in wantonness
wantoner
noun
Examples of wanton in a Sentence
Adjective
No artist should be subjected to this much wanton affection: it's unseemly, like being hugged by a stranger who won't let go.
—
James Wolcott, New Republic, 30 Aug. 2004
I also wrote that innocent people would die as a consequence of the wanton, lawless destruction of medical stocks in a dirt-poor country.
—Christopher Hitchens, Nation, 31 May 1999
While I was happy to find Mr. Pollan firmly allied with those of us who oppose the wanton broadcast of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers on lawn and garden, I wish he had lingered a little longer over this vital subject.
—Maxine Kumin, New York Times Book Review, 9 June 1991
Vandals were guilty of the wanton destruction of the school property.
They were accused of wanton cruelty toward animals.
He showed a wanton disregard for his friend's feelings.
a life of wanton luxury
Noun
He practiced the anathema he would hurl at her from his pulpit when her shame was known—hussy, slut, harlot and wanton featured heavily …
—James A. Michener, Texas, 1985
During the middle years of their marriage … his campaign to free his bride so that she could become a wanton had languished.
—Andrew M. Greeley, Ascent into Hell, 1983
My informal education had begun the afternoon in Belleville Park when I discovered that girls were wantons willing to sneak away to shaded glades to be kissed.
—Russell Baker, Growing Up, 1982
quite the wanton when he wants to be
Verb
It might well be, said Mrs McNab, wantoning on with her memories; they had friends in eastern countries; gentlemen staying there, ladies in evening dress; she had seen them once through the dining-room door all sitting at dinner.
—Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse, 1927
… for Nature here / Wantoned as in her prime and played at will / Her virgin fancies, pouring forth more sweet, Wild above rule or art, enormous bliss.
—John Milton, Paradise Lost, 1667
James Wolcott, New Republic, 30 Aug. 2004
I also wrote that innocent people would die as a consequence of the wanton, lawless destruction of medical stocks in a dirt-poor country.
—Christopher Hitchens, Nation, 31 May 1999
While I was happy to find Mr. Pollan firmly allied with those of us who oppose the wanton broadcast of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers on lawn and garden, I wish he had lingered a little longer over this vital subject.
—Maxine Kumin, New York Times Book Review, 9 June 1991
Vandals were guilty of the wanton destruction of the school property.
They were accused of wanton cruelty toward animals.
He showed a wanton disregard for his friend's feelings.
a life of wanton luxury
Noun
He practiced the anathema he would hurl at her from his pulpit when her shame was known—hussy, slut, harlot and wanton featured heavily …
—James A. Michener, Texas, 1985
During the middle years of their marriage … his campaign to free his bride so that she could become a wanton had languished.
—Andrew M. Greeley, Ascent into Hell, 1983
My informal education had begun the afternoon in Belleville Park when I discovered that girls were wantons willing to sneak away to shaded glades to be kissed.
—Russell Baker, Growing Up, 1982
quite the wanton when he wants to be
Verb
It might well be, said Mrs McNab, wantoning on with her memories; they had friends in eastern countries; gentlemen staying there, ladies in evening dress; she had seen them once through the dining-room door all sitting at dinner.
—Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse, 1927
… for Nature here / Wantoned as in her prime and played at will / Her virgin fancies, pouring forth more sweet, Wild above rule or art, enormous bliss.
—John Milton, Paradise Lost, 1667
Recent Examples on the Web
Jerome Drevon, Foreign Affairs, 11 Apr. 2025
Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne, a professor of public international law at the University of Bristol, agreed there is a strong case that Israel’s widespread destruction of property is a war crime of wanton destruction, an accusation also leveled by Amnesty International and other human rights groups.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025
Natalie Demaree, Miami Herald, 27 May 2025
She was officially charged with a DUI and DWI, negligently driving a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner endangering property, life, and person, as well as recklessly driving a vehicle in wanton and willful disregard for the safety of persons and property.
—Esther Kang, People.com, 28 Apr. 2025
James Powel, USA TODAY, 27 July 2023
Neo-Nazis and trolls expressed a palpable delight that all of this was happening on an ostensibly mainstream platform—wanton hatred not on 4chan or Stormfront, but on the same network where Barack Obama posted a condolence message about Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wanton
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Human rights organizations have also documented the wanton execution of Alawite civilians by fighters aligned with the government.
—Jerome Drevon, Foreign Affairs, 11 Apr. 2025
Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne, a professor of public international law at the University of Bristol, agreed there is a strong case that Israel’s widespread destruction of property is a war crime of wanton destruction, an accusation also leveled by Amnesty International and other human rights groups.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
Fields is charged with wanton endangerment and involuntary manslaughter, police said.
—Natalie Demaree, Miami Herald, 27 May 2025
She was officially charged with a DUI and DWI, negligently driving a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner endangering property, life, and person, as well as recklessly driving a vehicle in wanton and willful disregard for the safety of persons and property.
—Esther Kang, People.com, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
Last year, a jury awarded 78-year-old Ruby Johnson $3.76 million in damages, finding that found two Denver police officers acted with willful and wanton disregard of Johnson’s constitutional right to be free from an unreasonable search and seizure in 2022, USA TODAY previously reported.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 27 July 2023
Neo-Nazis and trolls expressed a palpable delight that all of this was happening on an ostensibly mainstream platform—wanton hatred not on 4chan or Stormfront, but on the same network where Barack Obama posted a condolence message about Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wanton
Cite this Entry
“Wanton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wanton. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
wanton
adjective
wan·ton
ˈwänt-ᵊn, ˈwȯnt- 
: manifesting extreme indifference to a risk of injury to another that is known or should have been known : characterized by knowledge of and utter disregard for probability of resulting harm
a wanton act
by such wanton or willful misconduct
see also reckless
Note: Wanton, reckless, and willful are often used to refer to an aggravated level of negligence that borders on intent and that is often ground for an award of punitive damages.
wantonly
adverb
wantonness
noun
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