wild

adjective

\ ˈwī(-ə)ld

Definition of wild

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : living in a state of nature and not ordinarily tame or domesticated wild ducks

b(1) : growing or produced without human aid or care wild honey

(2) : related to or resembling a corresponding cultivated or domesticated organism

c : of or relating to wild organisms the wild state

2a : not inhabited or cultivated wild land

b : not amenable to human habitation or cultivation also : desolate

3a(1) : not subject to restraint or regulation : uncontrolled also : unruly

(2) : emotionally overcome wild with grief also : passionately eager or enthusiastic was wild to own a toy train — J. C. Furnas

b : marked by turbulent agitation : stormy a wild night

c : going beyond normal or conventional bounds : fantastic wild ideas also : sensational

d : indicative of strong passion, desire, or emotion a wild gleam of delight in his eyes — Irish Digest

4 : uncivilized, barbaric

5 : characteristic of, appropriate to, or expressive of wilderness, wildlife, or a simple or uncivilized society

6a : deviating from the intended or expected course wild spelling— C. W. Cunnington the throw was wild also : tending to throw inaccurately a wild pitcher

b : having no basis in known or surmised fact a wild guess

7 of a playing card : able to represent any card designated by the holder

wild

noun

Definition of wild (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : a sparsely inhabited or uncultivated region or tract : wilderness

2 : a wild, free, or natural state or existence

wild

adverb

Definition of wild (Entry 3 of 3)

: in a wild manner: such as

a : without regulation or control plants that grow wild

b : off an intended or expected course

Other Words from wild Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about wild

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Examples of wild in a Sentence

Adjective

wild places high in the mountains I felt a wild rage. He was wild with anger. The crowd went wild when the band took the stage.

Noun

They hiked through the wilds of Maine. The plants were collected from the wild. They will return the animal to the wild when it is healthy. Could these animals survive in the wild? I've only seen that animal in a zoo, never in the wild.

Adverb

These plants grow wild on the roadside. as soon as the doors opened, early-morning bargain hunters ran wild through the store

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The study didn’t find that these couples in the wild were too successful, only two had learned each other’s calls which is important for maintaining long term bonds, reports Smithsonian’s Brigit Katz. — Rachael Lallensack, Smithsonian, "Two Male Penguins in Berlin Join Long Line of Same-Sex Pairs to Adopt an Egg," 16 Aug. 2019 Tourists come here for the wild, dramatic setting and the views: Galway Bay, the Aran Islands and the Dingle Peninsula are all visible on sunny, cloudless days. — Shivani Vora, Washington Post, "Skip the much-visited Irish cliffs for taller, less-touristed crags," 15 Aug. 2019 Brethren Christian advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 5A playoffs, losing 63-45 at Los Angeles Pilgrim in the wild-card round. — Daily Pilot, "Brethren Christian’s Jace Knowles makes All-Express League first team in boys’ basketball," 14 Aug. 2019 The country that makes up the border is some of the wildest in North America. — Anchorage Daily News, "The thin line between Alaska and Canada," 13 July 2019 Condor populations have recovered from a low of 22 wild birds in 1986 to about 300 living in the wild today. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "DDT contaminants in marine mammals may threaten California condor recovery," 11 July 2019 The first day of NBA free agency was one of the wildest in recent memory, as roughly $3 billion — yes, billion — in new contract money was agreed to. — Aj Neuharth-keusch, USA TODAY, "NBA free agency: Roughly $3 billion spent on Day 1," 1 July 2019 About 100 of them have been released into the wild at sites across the state. — Andrew Nicla, azcentral, "Six black-footed ferret kits born at the Phoenix Zoo's conservation center," 29 June 2019 Imagine the thick, wet, fertile quiet, coupled with that delicious dirt: precious specimens, left to their own devices, silently gorging, seedlings and weeds running wild. — Charlotte Mendelson, The New Yorker, "The Stunning Grounds, and Tragic History, of the Lost Gardens of Heligan," 2 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

But Jason Wang, who founded TrueVault to help companies protect data, said there’s not a lot consumers can do once their data is in the wild. — Washington Post, "ID theft stings, but it’s hard to pin on specific data hacks," 3 Aug. 2019 Other orangutans simply lack the survival skills necessary to live in the wild. — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, "School for Orphaned Baby Orangutans Helps the Young Primates Grow Up and Graduate to the Wild," 1 Aug. 2019 The number of lions in the wild has fallen from around 450,000 in 1950, to 40,000 when the first Lion King came out, to around 20,000 today. — Klara Glowczewska, Town & Country, "How the New Lion King Film Could Help the Real-Life Lion Crisis," 1 Aug. 2019 Elephants can live up to 60 or 70 years in the wild. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Msholo the African elephant leaves San Diego Zoo Safari Park for new home, companions," 27 July 2019 While only a small number of samples have been found in the wild, a larger number of samples dates back as long ago as 2015. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Advanced mobile surveillanceware, made in Russia, found in the wild," 24 July 2019 Since 2007, with the exception of the Sumatran rhino, all species have increased in numbers in the wild. — NBC News, "Your safari selfies are cute, but they're a road map for poachers," 22 July 2019 In the wild, the translation from an auditory alert to a vibrational one would serve to warn clutchmates whose sense of hearing had not yet developed, the researchers suggest. — Jennifer Leman, Scientific American, "Bird Embryos Vibrate to Warn One Another of Danger before They Hatch," 22 July 2019 And when the 4449 gets out steaming on the public lines, people line up by the hundreds to get a photo … or just to see a big, vintage engine let loose in the wild. — Tom Bentley, Popular Mechanics, "Why the SP 4449 Is Such a Badass Train," 15 July 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

The Indians, who lead the American League wild-card race, are a major league-best 37-15 since June 4. — Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, "Angels survive a couple of scares to Jaime Barria and Luke Bard in loss," 4 Aug. 2019 Like the Giants facing one of the four teams that stand between them and a National League wild-card slot. — Henry Schulman, SFChronicle.com, "Giants fall flat in opener against one of the teams they are chasing for wild card," 30 July 2019 And the Rockies are 7½ games back in the National League wild-card chase, with playoff odds that Fangraphs projects at just 1 percent. — Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, "Reds take series over Rockies as last-place Colorado ends road trip with playoff odds hovering around one percent," 28 July 2019 There’s a nine-team knot for two National League wild-card spots and the Padres are looking up at six … including the Giants, for painful context. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Trade options on table for Preller, Padres show progress," 20 July 2019 This duel between Bumgarner and Mets starter Noah Syndergaard was a rematch of the 2016 National League wild-card game, won 3-0 by the Giants. — Ron Kroichick, SFChronicle.com, "Giants’ Madison Bumgarner sparkles, Donovan Solano gets decisive hit in 16-inning win," 19 July 2019 As expected, fans are going wild on Twitter, even cracking a few good-natured jokes along the way. — Tess Garcia, Teen Vogue, "Billie Eilish Dyed Her Roots Neon Green," 6 July 2019 Both the Badgers and Wolverines will be coming off of byes before this game, and if Wisconsin has identified its quarterback and running back Jonathan Taylor goes wild, an upset isn’t outside of the realm of possibility. — Joan Niesen, SI.com, "September Stumbling Blocks for 2019's College Football Playoff Hopefuls," 28 June 2019 This time, what some consider an extraterrestrial was caught on camera, and people on Facebook and Twitter are going wild analyzing it. — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "People Have All Kinds of Theories about this Video of an 'Alien' in Someone's Driveway," 10 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wild.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.