Meaning & use

rampant

adjective·Advanced

Spreading or growing quickly and uncontrollably, especially something undesirable.

See it in a sentence

Corruption was rampant in the government long before the scandal was exposed.

Weeds grew rampant across the abandoned lot within a single summer.

A note on using this word

Rampant nearly always describes something negative, like disease, crime, or weeds, rather than something welcome.

Words with a similar meaning

widespreaduncontrolledunchecked

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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