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as in uninhabited
existing without human habitation or cultivation that land has been completely wild since the owners abandoned it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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wild

2 of 3

adverb

wild

3 of 3

noun

as in wilderness
that part of the physical world that is removed from human habitation some animals aren't meant to live outside of the wild

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wild
Adjective
The Bristol Bay watershed supports one of the world’s largest wild salmon runs, which is a critical food source for the bears. Emese MacZko, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025 They are believed to have entered the United States in the 1500s, where, over centuries, domestic stock eventually became wild due to escape and abandonment. Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Adverb
During the Depression, people ate wild-growing weeds such as dandelions out of necessity. Gabriel Popkin, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022 Advocates encourage businesses to use local, seasonal, and wild-grown ingredients, and tap into ancestral farming and foraging techniques. Zinara Rathnayake, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Aug. 2022
Noun
Owen — who has monitored the species in the Arctic wild — said monitoring Kalluk at the zoo also helped with better understanding polar bears’ body weight and fat stores, and therefore conservation efforts to protect them. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Aug. 2025 Seabourn already takes guests on expedition cruises to the icy wilds of the Arctic and Antarctica. Nathan Diller, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wild
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wild
Adjective
  • While not native to Florida, wild hogs, also called feral hogs, feral swine, feral pigs, wild boar, wild pigs or piney woods rooter, live in all 67 Florida counties, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC).
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
  • There is something feral in the onrush of Marlowe’s verse, with the gleam of bared teeth daring us to laugh.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • China seized the uninhabited atoll – 870 km (540 miles) from its southernmost province of Hainan – in 2012 after a long standoff with the Philippine Navy, and has maintained an almost constant coast guard presence in nearby waters since.
    Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Intrepid types who truly seek solitude may also want to consider the Highlands—the uninhabited center of the island.
    Ali Wunderman, AFAR Media, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Giant chronicles a turbulent time in the life of famed children’s author Dahl when he was accused of anti-Semitism in the early 1980s.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2025
  • As the biomaterials space navigates a more turbulent landscape marked by tightening budgets, regulatory uncertainty, and investor caution, Biofabricate is adapting its approach.
    Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Amid violently bizarre practices and visually upsetting situations, Cam finally sees a bigger picture.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025
  • After all, the saga involves asset seizures, the arrest and imprisonment of Citgo executives in Venezuela, prisoner exchanges, and multiple auction rounds in a bizarre, winding legal process.
    Jordan Blum, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • At the heart of the discovery lies one of quantum mechanics’ strangest features — uncertainty.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 19 Sep. 2025
  • The combination of climbing around this strange building and having heard the almost legendary stories about Karl-Göran was evocative and haunting.
    Zac Ntim, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • From that moment onwards the game became a frantic back and forth.
    Manuel Veth, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • On Friday, law enforcement officials arrested the man accused of shooting and killing Kirk, in Utah after a frantic 33-hour manhunt.
    Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Bailey plays half-elf ranger Vex, O’Brien is her twin brother Vax, Willingham is the lovable barbarian Grog, Johnson is the holy gnome cleric Pike, Jaffe is the royal gunslinger Percy, Ray is magical half-elf druid Keyleth and Riegel is the raunchy gnome bard Scanlan.
    Jordan Moreau, Variety, 24 July 2025
  • The economy will not thrive on backward, barbarian technologies and our babies will suffer from the burden of debt, bad air and blackouts.
    Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 June 2025
Adjective
  • Jennifer Affleck, one of the stars from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, entered rehearsals excited to be paired with Jan Ravnik and to tap into her Latin roots.
    Joelle Goldstein, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
  • When people are excited, there’s bound to be energy and urgency.
    Dahvi Shira, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Wild.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wild. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.

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