wanton
UK/ˈwɒntən//ˈwɑntən/
wanton adjective: undisciplined, unruly; not able to be controlled.
Adjective
wanton (comparative more wanton or wantoner, superlative most wanton or wantonest)
- Undisciplined, unruly; not able to be controlled.
- As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, / They kill us for their sport.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- 'Tis the cruel gripe, / That lean hard-handed poverty inflicts, / The hope of better things, the chance to win, / The wiſh to ſhine, the thirſt to be amus'd, / That at the found of Winter's hoary wing, / Unpeople all our counties, of ſuch herds, / Of flutt'ring, loit'ring, cringing, begging, looſe...1785, William Cowper, “Book III. The Garden.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 133
- Playful, sportive; merry or carefree.
- The grave simplicity of the philosopher was ill calculated to engage her wanton levity, or to fix that unbounded passion for variety, which often discovered personal merit in the meanest of mankind.1776, Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume 1
- Lewd, immoral; sexually open, unchaste.
- if wenches will hang out lures for fellows, it is no matter what they suffer: I detest such creatures; and it would be much better for them that their faces had been seamed with the smallpox: but I must confess I never saw any of this wanton behaviour in poor Jenny [...].1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC
- I know I ought never to have dreamt of sending that valentine—forgive me, sir—it was a wanton thing which no woman with any self-respect should have done.1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC
- Capricious, reckless of morality, justice etc.; acting without regard for the law or the well-being of others; gratuitous.
- Edward himself, now thoroughly enlightened on her character, had no scruple in believing her capable of the utmost meanness of wanton ill-nature.1811, [Jane Austen], Sense and Sensibility […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC
- Several cases of serious wanton damage have occurred on the new electric trains on the Manchester-Bury line of the London Midland Region during recent weeks.1960 May, “Wanton Damage in Trains”, in Railway Magazine, page 300
- Synonyms:
- callous, inhumane, merciless, unjustified
- Extravagant, unrestrained, excessive.
- the market price will rise more or less above the natural price, according as either the greatness of the deficiency, or the wealth and wanton luxury of the competitors, happen to animate more or less the eagerness of the competition.1776, Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book I
- But do not think it argues change of temper since I wrote the Frère review, or a wanton praise of one man and blame of another.1876 January 19, John Ruskin, Letters
- Synonyms:
- lavish, luxuriant, prodigal, devilish, excessive, horrendous, de trop, extravagant, extreme, immoderate
Noun (1)
wanton (plural wantons)
- A pampered or coddled person.
- I would have thee gone — / And yet no farther than a wanton's bird, / That lets it hop a little from her hand, / Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, / And with a silken thread plucks it back again[…]c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- Synonyms:
- cosset, feddle, mollycoddle
- An overly playful person; a trifler.
- you but dally, / I pray you passe with your best violence, / I am afeard you make a wanton of me.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- Peace, my wantons; he will do / More than you can aim unto.1611, Ben Jonson, Oberon, the Faery Prince
- A self-indulgent person, fond of excess.
- A lewd or immoral person, especially a prostitute.
- ...paints with tremendous force the adulteries of the two wantons Aholah and Aholibah, Israel and Judah, and their love of strangers...1891, Mrs. Oliphant, Jerusalem: Its History and Hope
- However, terrible as it may seem to the tall maiden sisters of J.P.'s in Queen Anne houses with walled vegetable gardens, this courtesan, strumpet, harlot, whore, punk, fille de joie, street-walker, this trollop, this trull, this baggage, this hussy, this drab, skit, rig, quean, mopsy, demirep...1936, Anthony Bertram, Like the Phoenix
- Synonyms:
- player, roué, adulterer, bed-hopper, carpetmonger, chamberer, debauchee, debaucher, fornicator, gallant
Verb
wanton (third-person singular simple present wantons, present participle wantoning, simple past and past participle wantoned)
- To rove and ramble without restraint, rule, or limit; to revel; to play loosely; to frolic.
- […] We will fetch thee straight / Adonis painted by a running brook, / And Cytherea all in sedges hid, / Which seem to move and wanton with her breath / Even as the waving sedges play wi’ th’ wind.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- […] Nature here / Wantond as in her prime, and plaid at will / Her Virgin Fancies […]1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- To waste or squander, especially in pleasure (most often with away).
- The young man wantoned away his inheritance.
- [W]ith this money the King shall wanton away his time in pleasures […]1660 May 7 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “April 28th, 1660”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume VIII, London...
- Synonyms:
- lavish, splash out, splurge, throw away
- To act wantonly; to be lewd or lascivious.
- Be loving and courteous to your fellow Servants, not gigling or idling out your time, or wantoning in the society of men […]1677, Hannah Woolley, The Compleat Servant-Maid, London: T. Passinger, page 62
- Happy he that ſips Eternally ſuch Nectar dovvn, that unconfin'd may Lave, and VVanton there in ſateleſs Draughts of ever ſpringing Beauty— […]1700 (date written), Colley Cibber, Love Makes a Man: Or, The Fop’s Fortune. A Comedy. […], London: […] Richard Parker […], Hugh Newman […], and E. Rumbal […], published 1701, →OCLC, Act II, page 19
Noun (2)
wanton (plural wanton or wantons)
- wonton (Chinese dumpling)
- Add wanton, chives and vegetables to broth and season with 1 tablespoon salt, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 chicken cube.1979, Lucy Lo, “Wanton Soup with Vegetable”, in Chinese Cooking with Lucy Lo: Authentic Mouth-watering Recipes You Can Prepare at Home by a Leading Hong Kong Chef, Sydney, N.S.W.: Horwitz...
- Spread mayonnaise sparingly on one side of each of the wantons. Now make a stepped sandwich so that you can see about one-third of each type of fish on your serving plate. Start with one wanton, mayonnaise-side up, cover with a slice of tuna add another wanton, mayonnaise-side up, leaving one-third...1993, George Mure, Jill Mure, “Sashimi Mille Feuille”, in Mures Fish Tales & Tasmanian Seafood, Hobart, Tasmania: Platypus Publishing, →ISBN, “Starters” section, page 63
wanton meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
wanton in Tamil
- வேண்டுமென்றே தீயநோக்கத்துடன் செய்யப்பட்ட, பயன்படுத்தப்பட்ட, காரண காரியமோ, சீண்டலோ தூண்டுதலோ அற்ற, நியாய, அநியாயம் பார்க்காத
wanton in Urdu
- بےپیر, بلاوجہ, چنچل, فاجر, کافر, لاپرواہ
wanton in Bengali
- ইচ্ছাকৃত
wanton in Malayalam
- wilful, deliberate, malicious
- അനിയന്ത്രിതമായ, മനഃപൂർവ്വമായ, കരുതിക്കൂട്ടിയുള്ള, തന്നിഷ്ടമായ, തോന്ന്യാസമായ, ദുരുപദിഷ്ടമായ
- immoral, promiscuous, immodest
- ദുർവൃത്തമായ, ധൂർത്ത, ദുർമ്മാർഗ്ഗിയായ, കുത്തഴിഞ്ഞ ലെെംഗികജീവിതം നയിക്കുന്ന, കാമാന്ധമായ, ലമ്പടനായ
More languagesFewer languages
- wanton in Kannada
- ಚಲ್ಲಾಟದ, ಹಣ ಚೆಲ್ಲುವ, ನೋಯಿಸುವ, ಕೇಡು ಮಾಡುವ
- wanton in Sanskrit
- प्रमद pramada
Examples of wanton in a sentence
- People should not marry too young, because, if they do, the children will be weak and female, the wives will become wanton, and the husbands stunted in their growth.1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.21:
- How merrily we would sally into the fields; and strip under the first warmth of the sun; and wanton like young dace in the streams […]1823, Elia [pseudonym; Charles Lamb], “Christ’s Hospital Five and Thirty Years Ago”, in Elia. Essays which have Appeared under that...
- As for her soft brown hair, it was free to wanton in the winds, save where a strip of velvet restrained it around her brows.1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter XI, page 139:
- McNab, wantoning on with her memories […]1927 May, Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse, London: Leonard and Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, […], →OCLC, page 217:
Synonyms of wanton
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of wanton
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more wanton |
| comparative | wantoner |
| superlative | most wanton |
| superlative | wantonest |
| Noun | |
| plural | wantons |
| plural | wanton |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | wantons |
| present participle | wantoning |
| past participle | wantoned |
| past | wantoned |
Origin of wanton
From Middle English wantoun, wantowen, wantoȝen, wantowe (“uneducated; unrestrained; licentious; sportive; playful”), from wan- (“not, un-, mis-”) + towen, i-towen (“educated”, literally “towed; led; drawn”), from Old English togen, ġetogen, past participle of tēon (“to train, discipline”), equivalent to wan- + towed.
Borrowed from Cantonese 雲吞 /云吞 (wan⁴ tan¹).
Words formed from wanton
Questions about wanton
- What does wanton mean?
- Wanton means undisciplined, unruly; not able to be controlled.
- What is wanton in Tamil?
- Wanton in Tamil is வேண்டுமென்றே தீயநோக்கத்துடன் செய்யப்பட்ட, பயன்படுத்தப்பட்ட, காரண காரியமோ. See Wanton meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use wanton in a sentence?
- People should not marry too young, because, if they do, the children will be weak and female, the wives will become wanton, and the husbands stunted in their growth.
- What part of speech is wanton?
- Wanton can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce wanton?
- Wanton is pronounced /ˈwɒntən/ (UK).
Words near wanton in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wanton (page history and authors); wanton (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wanton (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wanton (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wanton (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); wanton (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); प्रमद (Sanskrit) (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-wanton.ogg, En-au-wanton.ogg.
Cite this entry: “wanton.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wanton. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.