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
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Recent Examples of wantonness
Grace’s playfully feral wantonness is funny and bewitching, but her schtick loses its luster for Jackson, who takes a job that keeps him away from home, leaving her with the baby.
—
Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 6 Nov. 2025
Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 6 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wantonness
Noun
-
Pardo Bazán’s themes are fear, love, hatred, forgiveness, cruelty, repentance, homesickness, and madness—that is, naked reality as experienced across social strata in her time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The punishment doesn't match the cruelty of your actions.—
Cameron Knight,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
He is charged with open and lewd grossness.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
-
In fact, plenty of other things in your home surpass the toilet in terms of grossness.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
With much of the world horrified by the USSR’s brutality, Eisenhower was furious that the British-French-Israeli offensive was both diverting international attention and handing Moscow a PR victory by enabling it to speak about Western aggression in the Middle East.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The 1986 film also included accounts by former conscripts who had been forced to participate in the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, making clear the hopelessness and brutality of the war, starkly contrasting with the Kremlin’s version of a war of progress and purpose.—
Will Tizard,
Variety,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The artist’s way, of course, is sincere, even if in the case of Dracula, sincerity begets just under three hours of unsparing cultural commentary and full goose bozo vulgarity.—
Andy Crump,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Songs marked explicit mean their lyrics include swear words or other vulgarities.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Claud has two convictions for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age and one conviction for open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
There is plenty of coarseness in American arenas totally unrelated to MAGA or Trumpism, of course.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
11 Oct. 2025
-
An alkaline compound, baking soda is a non-toxic cleaner with a coarseness that works wonders for scrubbing grime, removing difficult stains, and deodorizing stinky odors.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There’s some rudeness, aggressive conversations, and crudeness, but nothing too over the top.—
Lynnette Nicholas,
Parents,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Brown hurled obscenities at the manager and left the building as the fast-food worker screamed in pain, according to the footage.—
Mitch Picasso,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Nineteenth century reformers and religious authorities condemned the circus as an ungodly, drunken spectacle ripe with gender transgressions and obscenities.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wantonness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wantonness. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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