Meaning & use
wanton
Deliberate and without any justifiable reason, especially describing cruel or destructive behavior.
See it in a sentence
The court condemned the wanton destruction of protected wetlands for the new development.
Historians describe the raid as an act of wanton cruelty against civilians.
A note on using this word
Wanton in legal and formal writing means deliberate and unjustified harm; an older, less common sense describes reckless sexual behavior.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
justifiedrestrained
Another way to use it
2. adjective
Sexually unrestrained or promiscuous, an older and now less common sense.
The novel's Victorian narrator condemns the character's wanton behavior at every turn.
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