1
as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
the barbaric wantonness with which the guards treated the prisoners of war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grossness
the quality or state of being obscene
novels characterized chiefly by their sheer wantonness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wantonness
Noun
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On Tuesday, May 20, the Orange County District Attorney's Office confirmed in a press release that Alejandro Acosta Oliveros was charged with felony animal cruelty and felony theft of a companion animal.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
People.com,
21 May 2025 -
Today, the Trump Administration’s theatre of cruelty toward immigrants can be traced to any number of root causes, including racist nostalgia, economic insecurity, and far-right Christian nationalism.—
Michael Luo,
New Yorker,
20 May 2025
Noun
-
The Israeli government is indeed openly promising to commit horrific crimes against Palestinian civilians — brutality even above what the world has seen for the past year and a half.—
Zack Beauchamp,
Vox,
12 May 2025
-
Set in Los Angeles in 2018, with police brutality and the early stages of the Black Lives Matter movement very firmly part of its zeitgeist, Forever begins with Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) and Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) unexpectedly reconnecting at a New Year’s Eve party.—
Ebonie Walker,
Refinery29,
12 May 2025
Noun
-
Eli doesn’t flinch at their graphic vulgarity but smiles warmly and appreciatively, as only John Goodman can smile.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
5 May 2025
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His video streams are peppered with expletives, vulgarities and other language that many have disavowed in the name of political correctness.—
Jack Crosbie,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Such was the case this past weekend, as the Bronx faithful showered the $765-million man with deafening boos, taunts and obscenities.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
19 May 2025
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The shooting happened around 7 p.m., when officers were called to the 300 block of Oyster Point Boulevard for a report of a man who was yelling obscenities and trying to use a metal object to force his way into a public restroom, the South San Francisco Police Department said in a statement.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
16 May 2025
Noun
-
Over-Nite Sensation is a triumph: a concentrated digest from perhaps the most popular stretch of his career, and a freeze-frame of his compositional flowering and ingenious lyrical ribaldry.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
The Atlantic,
27 Nov. 2023
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Finding liberty in punk artistry, Dury updated the tradition of British music-hall ribaldry and rude folk humor.—
Armond White,
National Review,
3 Aug. 2022
Noun
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The oil molecules in seeds also break apart and create impurities that affect how the oils crystallize when they’re cooled.—
Katarina Zimmer,
Smithsonian Magazine,
2 May 2025
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The key is striking a balance between gentle yet clarifying formulas that thoroughly rid the skin of its impurities without stripping and causing further irritation.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
11 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Wantonness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wantonness. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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