Meaning & use
wild
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Living or growing in nature, not looked after or tamed by people.
Grammar: Before a noun: wild animals, wild flowers.
Patterns
- wild animals
- grow wild
Wild horses roam the plains.
Wild flowers grow along the path.
The cat was wild and would not come near.
adjectivecomparable
Not controlled or restrained, noisy and excited.
Grammar: Describes behavior, parties, or crowds.
Patterns
- a wild party
- go wild
The crowd went wild when the band appeared.
They threw a wild party.
The children were wild with excitement.
adjectivecomparable
Stormy and rough, as weather or the sea.
Grammar: Describes weather: a wild night.
Patterns
- a wild night
It was a wild night of wind and rain.
The sea was wild after the storm.
Wild weather closed the roads.
adjectivebefore a noun
Unlikely, extreme, or not carefully thought out.
Grammar: Often a wild guess, a wild idea.
Patterns
- a wild guess
It was only a wild guess.
He made wild claims without proof.
She had a wild idea for the project.
adjectiveafter a verbinformal
Very keen or angry.
Grammar: Informal: wild about something.
Patterns
- be wild about something
- be wild with someone
He is wild about jazz.
She was wild with him for forgetting.
The fans are wild about the new film.
nounsingular
A natural area with few or no people.
Grammar: Used with the: the wild.
Patterns
- in the wild
- into the wild
The bird was released into the wild.
Few tigers survive in the wild.
They camped out in the wild.
Word forms
| comparative | wilder |
|---|---|
| superlative | wildest |
Common combinations
- in the wild
- Few pandas live in the wild.
- go wild
- The fans went wild.
- wild animal
- Never feed a wild animal.
- wild guess
- I took a wild guess.
- wildest dreams
- It was beyond my wildest dreams.
- run wild
- The kids ran wild in the garden.
Synonyms and how they differ
- untamed
- Untamed stresses not being domesticated, often used for animals or spirits.
- feral
- Feral means having returned to a wild state after being domestic.
- rowdy
- Rowdy means noisy and disorderly, with a more negative tone than wild.
- stormy
- Stormy applies only to weather or situations with conflict.
Opposites
Word family
- wildly adverb
- in an uncontrolled or extreme way
- wildness noun
- the state of being wild
- wildlife noun
- animals and plants living in nature
- wilderness noun
- a large natural area without people
- wildfire noun
- a large uncontrolled fire in nature
Commonly confused: wild or wilt?
wild vs wilt
Wilt means to droop, as a plant does. It has no link with wildness.
Practice
What does wild mean in: The crowd went wild?
Choose one answer.
Go wild here means to react in an excited, uncontrolled way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wild”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.