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
-
Is the austerity of her work simply regurgitated cruelty?—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
6 May 2025 -
His father, Colin Gray, 54, has been indicted on 29 felonies including two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children.—
Devon M. Sayers,
CNN Money,
6 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
-
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
-
And while producers could appeal the board’s obscenity rulings, most did not.—
Mike Klingaman,
Baltimore Sun,
15 Apr. 2025
-
Skinner’s name was becoming a kind of obscenity in certain pockets of the terraces.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 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
-
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
-
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 20 May. 2025.
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