WANDERING Synonyms: 95 Similar and Opposite Words

wandering 1 of 2

adjective

ˈwän-d(ə-)riŋ

Definition of wandering next

as in rambling

passing from one topic to another your decidedly wandering essay loses its punch—stick to one theme

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in nomadic

traveling from place to place a wandering carnival that visited small towns all over the South

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

wandering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wander

as in roaming

to move about from place to place aimlessly we just went outside and wandered around until it was time to go

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in trespassing

to commit an offense we have all wandered from the path of righteousness at least once in our lives

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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 wandering

Adjective

The children were completely free and wandering, no one hitting marks, just playing and just being. —

Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Dec. 2025 Off-season on the island is less about waiting in line for a table and more about wandering, listening, and letting the town show you its soul. —

Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2025

Verb

The movement features the brand’s signature wandering hours display with 3-D retrograde minutes, as well as a dual turbine system that regulates—or can even deactivate—automatic winding. —

Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2025 This is not, in our own time, the psychic experience likely to be had by wandering adjuncts with short-story collections or assistant professors trying to look engaged at committee meetings in Gainesville and Champaign–Urbana. —

Vince Passaro, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wandering

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wandering

Adjective

Instead, DeSantis unleashed a rambling recap of the past seven years, with plenty of unsourced statistics, claims of victory that aren’t supported by reality, and wording often designed to obfuscate the most controversial parts of his tenure.

— Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2026
Day trips to Amalfi-style Taormina are well-advised for those who have yet to gawp at its clifftop panoramas across the Mediterranean or its film star hotels, as are jaunts to the rambling flea markets and splendidly scruffy trattorias of nearby Catania.

— Rosalyn Wikeley, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026