rampant
/ˈɹæm.pənt/
rampant adjective: rearing on both hind legs with the forelegs extended.
Adjective
rampant (comparative more rampant, superlative most rampant)
- Rearing on both hind legs with the forelegs extended.
- The Vienna riding school displays splendid rampant movement.
- Rearing up, especially on its hind leg(s), with a foreleg raised and in profile.
- ‘I forget your coat of arms.’
‘A human foot d’or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.’1846, Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado - little pieces of moustache on his upper lip, like a pair of minnows rampant1892, Thomas Hardy, The Well-Beloved
- ‘I forget your coat of arms.’
- Tilted, said of an arch with one side higher than the other, or a vault whose two abutments are located on an inclined plane.
- Unrestrained or unchecked, usually in a negative manner.
- Weeds are rampant in any neglected garden.
- Conditions were horrendous aboard most British naval vessels at the time. Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat.2012 March, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 87
- Rife, or occurring widely, frequently or menacingly.
- There was rampant corruption in the city.
Adverb
rampant (comparative more rampant, superlative most rampant)
- Rampantly.
- Things seem to be running rampant around here lately.
rampant meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
rampant in Tamil
- பரவுகிற, இருக்கிற, ஏராளமான, பொறுமையற்ற, பின் கால்களால் நிற்கிற, சினங் கொண்ட
rampant in Urdu
- بےلگام, مست
rampant in Malayalam
- വ്യാപകമായ, കൊഴുത്തുപുഷ്ടിയായ, അനിയന്ത്രിതമായ, അക്രമാസക്തമായ
rampant in Kannada
- ಕಾಯಿಲೆ, ಮಿತಿಮೀರಿದ, ಅತಿರೇಕದ, ಉಗ್ರ, ವ್ಯಾಪ್ತವಾಗುವ
More languagesFewer languages
- rampant in Odia
- ପ୍ରାଚୀର prācira
- rampant in Arabic
- جَامِح jāmiḥ, هَائِج hāʔij
Examples of rampant in a sentence
- The Duke's arms were a sable gryphon rampant on an argent field.
- The coalition of religious conservatives was campaigning against, in their view, rampant obscenity in the entertainment industry.
- The weeds have long run rampant in the garden and it would be difficult to regain control.
Forms of rampant
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more rampant |
| superlative | most rampant |
| alternative form (obsolete) | rampaunt |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | more rampant |
| superlative | most rampant |
Origin of rampant
From Middle English rampand, rampend, present participle of rampen (“to rise by climbing, shoot up, sprout, sty, ascend”), from Old French ramper (“to creep, climb”) (see below), equivalent to ramp + -and or ramp + -ant. Recorded since 1382, "standing on the hind legs" (as in heraldry), later, "fierce, ravenous" (1387). Compare Scots rampand (“rampant”). Alternatively from Middle English *rampant, from Old French rampant, the present participle of ramper (“to creep, climb”), equivalent to ramp + -ant. Old French ramper derives from Frankish *rampōn, *hrampōn (“to hook, grapple, climb”), from *rampa, *hrampa (“hook, claw, talon”), from Proto-Germanic *hrempaną (“to curve, shrivel, shrink, wrinkle”).
Words formed from rampant
- counter-rampant
- rampant gardant
- rampantly
- rampantness
- rampant regardant
- rampant sejant
- sejant rampant
- run rampant
Phrases with rampant
Questions about rampant
- What does rampant mean?
- Rampant means rearing on both hind legs with the forelegs extended.
- What is rampant in Tamil?
- Rampant in Tamil is பரவுகிற, இருக்கிற, ஏராளமான. See Rampant meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is rampant?
- Rampant can be an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce rampant?
- Rampant is pronounced /ˈɹæm.pənt/.
Words near rampant in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: rampant (page history and authors); rampant (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); rampant (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); rampant (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); rampant (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ପ୍ରାଚୀର (Odia) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-rampant.wav.
Cite this entry: “rampant.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rampant. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.