Living in a state of nature; inhabiting natural
haunts, as the forest or open field; not familiar with, or not
easily approached by, man; not tamed or domesticated; as, a wild
boar; a wild ox; a wild cat. [1913 Webster] Winter's not gone yet,
if the wild geese fly that way. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Growing or produced without culture; growing or
prepared without the aid and care of man; native; not cultivated;
brought forth by unassisted nature or by animals not domesticated;
as, wild parsnip, wild camomile, wild strawberry, wild honey. [1913
Webster] The woods and desert caves, With wild thyme and gadding
vine o'ergrown. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
Desert; not inhabited or cultivated; as, wild
land. "To trace the forests wild." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Savage; uncivilized; not refined by culture;
ferocious; rude; as, wild natives of Africa or America. [1913
Webster]
Not submitted to restraint, training, or
regulation; turbulent; tempestuous; violent; ungoverned;
licentious; inordinate; disorderly; irregular; fanciful; imaginary;
visionary; crazy. "Valor grown wild by pride." --Prior. "A wild,
speculative project." --Swift. [1913 Webster] What are these So
withered and so wild in their attire ? --Shak. [1913 Webster] With
mountains, as with weapons, armed; which makes Wild work in heaven.
--Milton. [1913 Webster] The wild winds howl. --Addison. [1913
Webster] Search then the ruling passion, there, alone The wild are
constant, and the cunning known. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered; as, a
wild roadstead. [1913 Webster]
Indicating strong emotion, intense excitement, or
?ewilderment; as, a wild look. [1913 Webster]
(Naut.) Hard to steer; -- said of a vessel. [1913
Webster] Note: Many plants are named by prefixing wild to the names
of other better known or cultivated plants to which they a bear a
real or fancied resemblance; as, wild allspice, wild pink, etc. See
the Phrases below. [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster] To run
wild, to go unrestrained or untamed; to live or untamed; to
live or grow without culture or training. To
sow one's wild oats. See under Oat. [1913 Webster] Wild
allspice. (Bot.), spicewood. Wild
balsam apple (Bot.), an American climbing cucurbitaceous plant
(Echinocystis
lobata). Wild basil
(Bot.), a fragrant labiate herb (Calamintha
Clinopodium) common in Europe and America. Wild bean
(Bot.), a name of several leguminous plants, mostly species of
Phaseolus and Apios. Wild bee
(Zool.), any one of numerous species of undomesticated social bees,
especially the domestic bee when it has escaped from domestication
and built its nest in a hollow tree or among rocks. Wild
bergamot. (Bot.) See under Bergamot. Wild boar
(Zool.), the European wild hog (Sus scrofa),
from which the common domesticated swine is descended. Wild brier
(Bot.), any uncultivated species of brier. See Brier. Wild bugloss
(Bot.), an annual rough-leaved plant (Lycopsis
arvensis) with small blue flowers. Wild
camomile (Bot.), one or more plants of the composite genus
Matricaria, much
resembling camomile. Wild cat.
(Zool.) (a) A European carnivore (Felis catus)
somewhat resembling the domestic cat, but larger stronger, and
having a short tail. It is destructive to the smaller domestic
animals, such as lambs, kids, poultry, and the like. (b) The common
American lynx, or bay lynx. (c) (Naut.) A wheel which can be
adjusted so as to revolve either with, or on, the shaft of a
capstan. --Luce. Wild celery.
(Bot.) See Tape grass,
under Tape. Wild cherry.
(Bot.) (a) Any uncultivated tree which bears cherries. The wild red
cherry is Prunus
Pennsylvanica. The wild black cherry is Prunus
serotina, the wood of which is much used for cabinetwork, being
of a light red color and a compact texture. (b) The fruit of
various species of Prunus. Wild
cinnamon. See the Note under Canella. Wild comfrey
(Bot.), an American plant (Cynoglossum
Virginicum) of the Borage family. It has large bristly leaves
and small blue flowers. Wild cumin
(Bot.), an annual umbelliferous plant (Lag[oe]cia
cuminoides) native in the countries about the Mediterranean.
Wild
drake (Zool.) the mallard. Wild elder
(Bot.), an American plant (Aralia
hispida) of the Ginseng family. Wild fowl
(Zool.) any wild bird, especially any of those considered as game
birds. Wild goose
(Zool.), any one of several species of undomesticated geese,
especially the Canada goose (Branta
Canadensis), the European bean goose, and the graylag. See
Graylag, and Bean goose,
under Bean. Wild goose
chase, the pursuit of something unattainable, or of something
as unlikely to be caught as the wild goose. --Shak. Wild honey,
honey made by wild bees, and deposited in trees, rocks, the like.
Wild
hyacinth. (Bot.) See Hyacinth, 1 (b) . Wild
Irishman (Bot.), a thorny bush (Discaria
Toumatou) of the Buckthorn family, found in New Zealand, where
the natives use the spines in tattooing. Wild land. (a)
Land not cultivated, or in a state that renders it unfit for
cultivation. (b) Land which is not settled and cultivated. Wild
licorice. (Bot.) See under Licorice. Wild mammee
(Bot.), the oblong, yellowish, acid fruit of a tropical American
tree (Rheedia
lateriflora); -- so called in the West Indies. Wild
marjoram (Bot.), a labiate plant (Origanum
vulgare) much like the sweet marjoram, but less aromatic.
Wild
oat. (Bot.) (a) A tall, oatlike kind of soft grass (Arrhenatherum
avenaceum). (b) See Wild oats,
under Oat. Wild
pieplant (Bot.), a species of dock (Rumex
hymenosepalus) found from Texas to California. Its acid, juicy
stems are used as a substitute for the garden rhubarb. Wild pigeon.
(Zool.) (a) The rock dove. (b) The passenger pigeon. Wild pink
(Bot.), an American plant (Silene
Pennsylvanica) with pale, pinkish flowers; a kind of catchfly.
Wild
plantain (Bot.), an arborescent endogenous herb (Heliconia
Bihai), much resembling the banana. Its leaves and leaf sheaths
are much used in the West Indies as coverings for packages of
merchandise. Wild plum.
(Bot.) (a) Any kind of plum growing without cultivation. (b) The
South African prune. See under Prune. Wild rice.
(Bot.) See Indian rice,
under Rice. Wild
rosemary (Bot.), the evergreen shrub Andromeda
polifolia. See Marsh
rosemary, under Rosemary. Wild sage.
(Bot.) See Sagebrush.
Wild
sarsaparilla (Bot.), a species of ginseng (Aralia
nudicaulis) bearing a single long-stalked leaf. Wild
sensitive plant (Bot.), either one of two annual leguminous
herbs (Cassia
Chamaecrista, and Cassia
nictitans), in both of which the leaflets close quickly when
the plant is disturbed. Wild
service.(Bot.) See Sorb. Wild
Spaniard (Bot.), any one of several umbelliferous plants of the
genus Aciphylla,
natives of New Zealand. The leaves bear numerous bayonetlike
spines, and the plants form an impenetrable thicket. Wild turkey.
(Zool.) See 2d Turkey.
[1913 Webster]
Wilder \Wil"der\, v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Wildered; p. pr. &
vb. n. Wildering.]
[Akin to E. wild, Dan. forvilde to bewilder, Icel. villr
bewildered, villa to bewilder; cf. AS. wildor a wild animal. See
Wild, a., and cf. Wilderness.] To bewilder; to
perplex. [1913 Webster] Long lost and wildered in the maze of fate.
--Pope. [1913 Webster] Again the wildered fancy dreams Of spouting
fountains, frozen as they rose. --Bryant. [1913 Webster]
Word Net
WilderNoun
1 United States writer and dramatist (1897-1975)
[syn: Thornton
Wilder, Thornton
Niven Wilder]
2 United States filmmaker (born in Austria) whose
dark humor infused many of the films he made (1906-2002) [syn:
Billy
Wilder, Samuel
Wilder]
English
Adjective
wilder- comparative of wild
Wilder may refer to:
- Wilder, Idaho
- Wilder, Kentucky
- Wilder, Minnesota
- Wilder, Vermont
- Wilder (Dungeons & Dragons), a character class in Dungeons & Dragons
- A wilder (Wheel of Time) in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series
- National Lampoon's Van Wilder
- Wilder's Grove, North Carolina, now part of Raleigh, North Carolina
- Wilder (film), a film (2000) featuring Pam Grier
- Wilder (album) a 1982 album by The Teardrop Exlodes
- Camp Wilder (1992-93), a sitcom about a family living in suburban Los Angeles, California
People with the surname Wilder
- Alan Wilder (born 1959), British electronic musician
- Alec Wilder (1907-1980), composer and songwriter
- Billy Wilder (1906-2002), Austrian-born film director
- Burt Green Wilder
- Christopher Wilder, American serial rapist and murderer
- Cherry Wilder, pseudonym of author Cherry Barbara Grimm (1930-2002)
- Douglas Wilder (born 1931), Governor of Virginia
- Gene Wilder (born 1933), American actor
- John S. Wilder (born 1921), Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee
- John T. Wilder, American Civil War general
- Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), American author
- Matthew Wilder (1953-), American musician
- Raymond Louis Wilder (1896-1982), American mathematician
- Rose Wilder Lane (1886-1968), American author
- Thornton Wilder (1897-1975), American writer
- Webb Wilder, American singer/songwriter
wilder in German: Wilder
wilder in French: Wilder
wilder in Polish: Wilder
wilder in Volapük: Wilder