1
as in obscene
depicting or referring to sexual matters in a way that is unacceptable in polite society
that novel was once regarded as a wanton tale of forbidden love
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in passionate
having a strong sexual desire
in earlier times, novelists usually portrayed wanton women as coming to a bad end
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cruel
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
a wanton attack on unarmed civilians
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 wanton
Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 28 Feb. 2026
The bloody history of the conflict has made it so that some people interpret the language of Palestinian liberation as a call for the wanton murder of Israelis.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
Brianne Tracy, PEOPLE, 15 Nov. 2025
Parents and teachers concerned about wanton immigration raids and their effect on kids.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wanton
Adjective
Pierla was cited for speeding, willful or wanton operation of a vehicle and child endangerment.
—Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 28 Feb. 2026
The bloody history of the conflict has made it so that some people interpret the language of Palestinian liberation as a call for the wanton murder of Israelis.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
Noun
Huger was ultimately 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.
—Brianne Tracy, PEOPLE, 15 Nov. 2025
Parents and teachers concerned about wanton immigration raids and their effect on kids.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wanton
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wanton
Adjective
-
The incident was captured on the broadcast, and after the game, Duran explained that his obscene gesture was in response to a fan crossing the line.—
Paulina Dedaj,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
-
The most common crime investigated by the unit was the distribution of obscene material depicting minors, followed by elder abuse and rape.—
Nicole Buss,
Sacbee.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Law enforcement made passionate pleas for parents and children alike to take gun safety more seriously.—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The latter is a nonstarter, given that Baker is a passionate defender of cinemas.—
Matt Donnelly,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Dahl’s books are fanciful and imaginative, but also dark, cynical, and mean (and, unfortunately, often reflected his real-life ugliness), spinning stories in which gruesome and unpleasant fates befell rotten kids, and adults were frequently selfish, cruel, and not to be trusted.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Violating that trust is both cruel and unlawful.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
One flirts and drinks and dallies and dances; the other is part child, part monk, his mantel packed with icons and crucifixes, his inner landscape a kind of mental Sagrada Família — a weird and extraordinary edifice constructed around the rigors and promises of Christianity.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
As crude flirts with prices of $100 a barrel or more on the back of the war in Iran, could the US oil sector ride to the rescue of consumers?—
David Wethe,
Bloomberg,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The word was considered so vulgar that it was left out of early dictionaries and was rarely printed, though Adams says people were certainly using it.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
-
One day, Dahlstrom made a vulgar joke in a lunchroom referencing oral sex and pubic hair, according to the employee.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
El Niño features unusually hot ocean waters near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, along with significant changes to global weather patterns and the planet’s climate.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
-
That same trial found five minutes of daily steam inhalation produced real reductions in symptom burden — a hot shower works just as well for most people.—
Allison Palmer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Seventy percent of tomatoes consumed in the United States come from Mexico, where the weather was also brutal, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).—
Vanessa Yurkevich,
CNN Money,
17 Apr. 2026
-
For Asmae El Moudir in The Mother of All Lies, that meant using miniatures to coax out details of her family’s experiences during Morocco’s brutal Years of Lead.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This material included thousands of pornographic deepfakes that Kamnik had generated using AI tools.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Police are investigating reports that Lake Zurich High School students used artificial intelligence to generate pornographic images of classmates, district officials said.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wanton.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wanton. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
