wilderness
Pronunciation: /ˈwɪldənəs/
The English word “wilderness” has 7 meanings listed here.
noun
- Uncultivated and unsettled land in its natural state inhabited by wild animals and with vegetation growing wild; (countable) a tract of such land; a waste or wild.
- A place other than land (for example, the air or sea) that is uncared for, and therefore devoted to disorder or wildness.
- An ornamental part of a garden or park cultivated with trees and often a maze to evoke a natural wilderness.
- Unrefinedness; wildness.
- Chiefly followed by of: a bewildering flock or throng; a large, often jumbled, collection of things.
- A place or situation that is bewildering and in which one may get lost.
- Preceded by in the: a situation of disfavour or lack of recognition; (specifically, politics) of a politician, political party, etc.: a situation of being out of office.
Etymology
From Middle English wildernes, wildernesse (“desolate or uninhabited place, desolation”) [and other forms], and then either: * from Middle English wilderne (“deserted or uninhabited place, wilderness; land not yet settled”) [and other forms] (from Old English wilddeōren (“savage, wild”); see below) + -nes, -nesse (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting qualities or states); or * from Old English…
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More English words
- wildering
- wilderment
- Wildermuth's ear
- Wilderness
- wilderness camp
- wilderness program
- Wilderness Road
- wilderness therapy
About this dictionary
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.