See also: Wild

English

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Pronunciation

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  • enPR: wīld, IPA(key): /waɪld/, [waɪ̯ɫd], [ˈwaɪ̯.ɫ̩d]
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪld

Etymology 1

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From Middle English wild, wilde, from Old English wilde, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (hair, wool, grass, ear (of corn), forest).

Adjective

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wild (comparative wilder, superlative wildest)

  1. Untamed; not domesticated; specifically, in an unbroken line of undomesticated animals (as opposed to feral, referring to undomesticated animals whose ancestors were domesticated).
    Antonym: tame
    Przewalski's horses are the only remaining wild horses.
  2. From or relating to wild creatures.
    wild honey
  3. Unrestrained or uninhibited.
    I was filled with wild rage when I discovered the infidelity, and punched a hole in the wall.
  4. Raucous, unruly, or licentious.
    The fraternity was infamous for its wild parties, which frequently resulted in police involvement.
  5. (electrical engineering) Of unregulated and varying frequency.
    The aircraft's navigational equipment should not be powered from the wild AC bus except in an emergency, as its computers can be damaged by variations in electrical frequency.
  6. Visibly and overtly anxious; frantic.
    • 2011 August 7, Chris Bevan, “Man City 2-3 Man Utd”, in BBC Sport:
      City, in contrast, were lethargic in every area of the pitch and their main contribution in the first half-hour was to keep referee Phil Dowd busy, with Micah Richards among four of their players booked early on, in his case for a wild lunge on Young.
    Her mother was wild with fear when she didn't return home after the party.
  7. Furious; very angry.
  8. Disheveled, tangled, or untidy.
    After a week on the trail without a mirror, my hair was wild and dirty.
  9. Enthusiastic.
    I'm not wild about the idea of a two day car trip with my nephews, but it's my only option.
  10. Very inaccurate; far off the mark.
    The novice archer fired a wild shot and hit her opponent's target.
  11. Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered.
    a wild roadstead
  12. (nautical, of a vessel) Hard to steer.
  13. (mathematics, of a knot) Not capable of being represented as a finite closed polygonal chain.
    Antonym: tame
  14. (slang) Amazing, awesome, unbelievable.
    Did you hear? Pat won the lottery! — Wow, that's wild!
  15. Able to stand in for others, e.g. a card in games, or a text character in computer pattern matching.
    In this card game, aces are wild: they can take the place of any other card.
    • 2009, Leonardo Vanneschi, Steven Gustafson, Alberto Moraglio, Genetic Programming: 12th European Conference:
      We define a pattern as a valid GP subtree that might contain wild characters [i.e. wildcards] in any of its nodes.
  16. Of an audio recording: intended to be synchronized with film or video but recorded separately.
    a wild track; wild sound
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Adverb

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wild (not comparable)

  1. Inaccurately; not on target.
    The javelin flew wild and struck a spectator, to the horror of all observing.
  2. (of an audio recording) Intended to be synchronized with film or video but recorded separately.
    Let's record it wild.

Noun

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wild (plural wilds)

  1. (singular, with "the") The undomesticated state of a wild animal.
    After mending the lion's leg, we returned him to the wild.
  2. (chiefly in the plural) A wilderness.
    • 1730–1774, Oliver Goldsmith, Introductory to Switzerland
      Thus every good his native wilds impart
      Imprints the patriot passion on his heart;
      And e’en those ills that round his mansion rise
      Enhance the bliss his scanty funds supplies.
Derived terms
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Verb

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wild (third-person singular simple present wilds, present participle wilding, simple past and past participle wilded)

  1. (intransitive, slang) To commit random acts of assault, robbery, and rape in an urban setting, especially as a gang.
    • 1989 April 22, David E. Pitt, “Jogger's Attackers Terrorized at Least 9 in 2 Hours”, in New York Times, page 1:
      ...Chief of Detectives Robert Colangelo, who said the attacks appeared unrelated to money, race, drugs, or alcohol, said that some of the 20 youths brought in for questioning has told investigators that the crime spree was the product of a pastime called "wilding".
      "It's not a term that we in the police had heard before," the chief said, noting that the police were unaware of any similar incident in the park recently. "They just said, 'We were going wilding.' In my mind at this point, it implies that they were going to raise hell."...
    • 1999, Busta Rhymes (Trevor Taheim Smith, Jr.), Iz They Wildin Wit Us? (song)
      Now is they wildin with us / And getting rowdy with us.
  2. (intransitive, slang) (In the form wilding or wildin') To act in a strange or unexpected way.
    • 2021 April 6, Shirley Ju, “The New Voice of Brooklyn is Here To 'Drench 'Em'”, in Flaunt Magazine[2], archived from the original on 7 September 2022:
      They had a big influence on me. They had a big influence on Brooklyn period. I like the nonsense. [laughs] They were wildin'. Everyone in Brooklyn was liking that shit. They're wildin'. Their story in the stu, it gets deep.
    • 2021 October 14, Jack Beresford, “Hospital Security Guard 'Heartbroken' After Being Fired Over Viral Video Confrontation”, in Newsweek[3]:
      Kinsey posted a clip of the incident alongside a caption that reads: "Damn the ER in Tulsa be wildin'."
    • 2022 April 20, A. Sherrod Blakely, “The Neverending Disappointment of Kyrie Irving”, in Bleacher Report[4]:
      The Ringer's Culture/NBA writer Wosney Lambre said it best: "I think it's a bad look for the players to be wilding on the fans like this. Fair or not, the players are held to a higher standard of decorum than the loser fans. It is what it is."

Etymology 2

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Noun

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wild (plural wilds)

  1. Alternative form of weald

Afrikaans

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Etymology

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From Dutch wild, from Middle Dutch wilt, from Old Dutch *wildi, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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wild (attributive wilde, comparative wilder, superlative wildste)

  1. wild

Dutch

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Etymology

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From Middle Dutch wilt, from Old Dutch wildi, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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wild (comparative wilder, superlative wildst)

  1. wild

Declension

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Declension of wild
uninflected wild
inflected wilde
comparative wilder
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial wild wilder het wildst
het wildste
indefinite m./f. sing. wilde wildere wildste
n. sing. wild wilder wildste
plural wilde wildere wildste
definite wilde wildere wildste
partitive wilds wilders

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Afrikaans: wild
  • Berbice Creole Dutch: weldri
  • Jersey Dutch: wäld
  • Negerhollands: wild, weeld, welt, willit, wil

Noun

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wild n (uncountable)

  1. game (food; animals hunted for meat)
  2. wildlife
  3. wilderness

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Anagrams

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German

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle High German wilde, from Old High German wildi, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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wild (strong nominative masculine singular wilder, comparative wilder, superlative am wildesten)

  1. wild
  2. (obsolete) strange
    Synonym: fremd

Declension

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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Hunsrik

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old High German wildi.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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wild (comparative wilder, superlative wildest)

  1. wild

Declension

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Declension of wild (see also Appendix:Hunsrik adjectives)
masculine feminine neuter plural
Weak inflection nominative wild wild wild wilde
accusative wilde wild wild wilde
dative wilde wilde wilde wilde
Strong inflection nominative wilder wilde wildes wilde
accusative wilde wilde wildes wilde
dative wildem wilder wildem wilde

Further reading

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Low German

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Etymology

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From Middle Low German wilde, from Old Saxon wildi, from Proto-West Germanic *wilþī, from Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz.

Compare English, Dutch and German wild, West Frisian wyld, Danish vild.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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wild (comparative willer, superlative willst)

  1. wild

Declension

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Maltese

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Root
w-l-d
11 terms

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Arabic وَلَد (walad).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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wild m (plural ulied)

  1. offspring