rampant

adjective

ˈram-pənt How to pronounce rampant (audio)
Definition of rampantnext
1
as in runaway
showing no signs of being under control the mayor promised to put a stop to the rampant crime that plagued the city

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lush
growing thickly and vigorously try to avoid the patch of rampant poison ivy near the resting spot on the trail

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rampant Crime remains rampant, and the country’s political stability remains tenuous. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026 The extremely soapy, enjoyably satirical true-life drama chronicles love, rampant betrayal and a brazen murder plot through three decades of the iconic Gucci fashion house. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 The federal government first created tax incentives for companies to implement employee ownership in the 1970s when stagflation was rampant and Washington wanted to generate more retirement assets for working Americans. — Diane Brady, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026 In other industries in which rampant resale markets are problematic, including live music, some acts have blocked uncapped secondary markets. — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rampant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rampant
  1. runaway
  2. lush
  3. uncontrolled
  4. weedy
  5. raw
  6. dense
  7. prosperous
  8. thick
Adjective
  • The tax revolt was a successful attempt by a small group of ideologues to capitalize on people’s justifiable anger at the cost-of-living crisis that followed the war in Vietnam, along with California’s runaway home prices.
    — Maggie McGowan, The New York Review of Books, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The season’s runaway favorite, however, was The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Phaedra Parks, whose cutthroat Traitor strategy — replete with sparkly eye shadow and sharp one-liners — got her almost all the way to the finish line.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of runaway
Adjective
  • Prolonged periods of drought are scorching French pastures, leeching them of their usual lush green vitality and leaving behind parched, lifeless yellow fields.
    — Vivian Song, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Heat and uneven rainfall have stressed forests in some areas, while timely moisture has kept others lush.
    — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of lush
Adjective
  • Removing all the deer would actually increase fire risk by allowing brush to grow uncontrolled, according to Hahn.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The spacecraft started tumbling uncontrolled after launch, forcing NASA to abandon the mission.
    — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of uncontrolled
Adjective
  • Jeon-Gi lives with his Korean family in Building A, scrapping with kids from other immigrant families in a weedy playground.
    — Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026
  • Your neighbors probably won't be bothered by your weedy flower beds or rusty lawn furniture.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 30 June 2026
Definition of weedy
Adjective
  • Strict regulations, punishing conditions This summer, more than three-quarters of France’s 80 producers of Salers cheese – a semi-hard, raw cow’s milk cheese – were brought to a standstill following a series of heat waves and accompanying drought.
    — Vivian Song, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Emotions are what make college football great, but there is a fine line between showing raw emotions and letting emotions get the best of you.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of raw
Adjective
  • Fires routinely sweep Kinshasa’s dense neighborhoods during the dry season, where rapid urban growth outpaces basic protections such as reliable fire and emergency services.
    — Saleh Mwanamilongo, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • There comes a moment, looking at Evans’s dense worlds, when the eye stops decoding and the mind begins to surrender.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of dense
Adjective
  • Born into a prosperous but unhappy family, the owners of a seed nursery, Kusama saw visions of flowers from an early age, dots that spread across surfaces and spoke to her.
    — Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Life and death are entangled, like a once-prosperous but now deserted community.
    — Jonathan Flint, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of prosperous
Adjective
  • The new sod being installed will come in thicker than what the existing sod was installed at.
    — Tim Graham, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Without any comparable examples, the thick squid butt remained in storage for nearly three decades.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of thick

Browse Nearby Words

rampaging
rampant
rampart
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Cite this Entry

“Rampant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rampant. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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