wilderness
Syllables: wild·er·nessUK/ˈwɪldənəs//ˈwɪldɚnəs/
wilderness 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.
Noun
wilderness (countable and uncountable, plural wildernesses)
- 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.
- For ſtill he traueild through wide waſtfull ground, / That nought but deſert wilderneſſe ſhewed all around.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 272
- O my poore kingdome! ſicke with ciuill blowes: / VVhen that my care could not withhold thy riots, / VVhat wilt thou do when riot is thy care? / O thou wilt be a wilderneſſe againe, / Peopled with woolues, thy old inhabitants.c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600...
- A place other than land (for example, the air or sea) that is uncared for, and therefore devoted to disorder or wildness.
- For now I ſtand as one vpon a rocke, / Inuirond with a wildernes of ſea, / VVho markes the vvaxing tide, grovv vvaue by vvaue, / Expecting euer vvhen ſome enuious ſurge, / VVill in his briniſh bovvels ſvvallow him.c. 1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas...
- [W]hat / Is this blue wilderness of interminable / Air, where ye roll along, as I have seen / The leaves along the limpid streams of Eden?1821, Lord Byron, “Cain, a Mystery”, in Sardanapalus, a Tragedy; The Two Foscari, a Tragedy; Cain, a Mystery, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 378
- An ornamental part of a garden or park cultivated with trees and often a maze to evoke a natural wilderness.
- And now with nerves new-brac'd and ſpirits chear'd / We tread the wilderneſs, whoſe well-roll'd walks / With curvature of ſlow and eaſy ſweep, / Deception innocent—give ample ſpace / To narrow bounds.1785, William Cowper, “Book I. The Sofa.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 19
- Unrefinedness; wildness.
- What ſhould I thinke, / Heauen ſhield my Mother plaid my Father faire: / For ſuch a warped ſlip of wilderneſſe / Nere iſſu'd from his blood.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- Theſe paths & Bowers doubt not but our joynt hands / Will keep from Wilderneſs with eaſe, as wide / As we need walk, till younger hands ere long / Aſſiſt us: […]1674, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], 2nd edition, London: […] S[amuel] Simmons […], →OCLC, page 221
- Chiefly followed by of: a bewildering flock or throng; a large, often jumbled, collection of things.
- Tuball. One of them ſhewed me a ring that hee had of your daughter for a Monkey. / Shy[lock]. Out vpon her: thou tortur'ſt me Tuball, it was my Turkies, I had it of Leah when I was a Batchellor: I would not haue giuen it for a wilderneſſe of Monkies.c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […] J[ames] Roberts [for Thomas Heyes], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act...
- [T]he virgins thou haſt rob'd of all their wiſhes, / blaſted their blowing hopes, turn'd their ſongs, / their mirthful Marriage-ſongs to Funerals, / the Land thou haſt left a wilderneſſe of wretches.c. 1613 (first performance), John Fletcher, “The Tragedie of Bonduca”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act V...
- A place or situation that is bewildering and in which one may get lost.
- As I walk'd through the wilderneſs of this world, I lighted on a certain place, where was a Denn; And I laid me down in that place to ſleep: And as I ſlept I dreamed a Dream.1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 1
- If solitude succeed to grief, / Release from pain is slight relief; / The vacant bosom's wilderness / Might thank the pang that made it less.1813, Lord Byron, The Giaour, a Fragment of a Turkish Tale, London: […] T[homas] Davison, […], for John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 28
- 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.
- After the firm establishment of the Irish Free State, [Winston] Churchill would continue to hold office until the depression. Then, he found himself in the political wilderness. But, unlike [David] Lloyd George, he would not find himself tripping to Berchtesgaden to prostrate himself before Adolf...2015, Dermot McEvoy, “How Michael Collins Helped Save Winston Churchill’s Career”, in Irish Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Ireland, New York, N.Y.: Skyhorse Publishing, →ISBN
Proper noun (1) capitalized: Wilderness
the Wilderness
Proper noun (2) capitalized: Wilderness
Wilderness
wilderness meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
wilderness in Hindi
- wilderness; forest
- रंज rañj
- wilderness
- बियाबान biyābān
wilderness in Tamil
- அடர்ந்த காட்டுப் பகுதி, வனம், அடர்வனம், வனாந்திரம், அடர்க்காடு
wilderness in Urdu
- wilderness, desert, forest
- بیابان bayābān
- wilderness
- بیاباں bayābā̃
wilderness in Bengali
- উপবন, জনহীন স্থান, পথহীন স্থান, কৃত্রিম বনভুমি
More languagesFewer languages
- wilderness in Malayalam
- വിജനപ്രദേശം
- wilderness in Kannada
- ಅಡವಿ, ಕಾಡು, ನಿರ್ಜನ ಪ್ರದೇಶ, ಮರುಭೂಮಿ
- wilderness in Gujarati
- રણ raṇ
- wilderness in Sanskrit
- मरु marú
- wilderness in Arabic
- بَرِّيَّة barriyya
- wilderness in Malay
- alam liar
- wilderness in Indonesian
- alam bebas, alam lepas, alam liar, tanah kosong
Examples of wilderness in a sentence
- Thus they went on talking of what they had ſeen by the way; and ſo made that way eaſie, which would otherwiſe, no doubt, have been tedious to them: for now they went through a Wilderneſs.1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page...
- Oh for a lodge in ſome vaſt wilderneſs, / Some boundleſs contiguity of ſhade, / Where rumour of oppreſſion and deceit, / Of unſucceſsful or ſucceſsful war / Might never reach me more.1785, William Cowper, “Book II. The Time-piece.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 45:
- Miss Bennet, there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness on one side of your lawn.1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XIV, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton...
- Here they ascended, and anon appeared to descend in the same direction, finding only boundless wildernesses, and varied combinations of tangled woodland scenery.1831 June–November (date written), Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter [IX], in Tales of My Landlord, Fourth and Last...
Synonyms of wilderness
Forms of wilderness
| plural | wildernesses |
|---|---|
| alternative form | wildernesse |
Origin of wilderness
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 *wildēornes, *wilddēornes, either from wilddēor (“wild animal”) [and other forms] or wilddēoren (“savage, wild”) (from wilddēor + -en (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘consisting of; material made of’)) + -nes (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting qualities or states). Wilddēor is derived from wilde (“savage, wild”) (ultimately either from Proto-Indo-European *wel-, *welw- (“hair, wool; ear of corn, grass; forest”), or *gʷʰel- (“wild”)) + dēor (“beast, wild animal”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwes- (“to breathe; breath; soul, spirit; creature”)). The English word is cognate with Danish vildnis (“wilderness”), German Wildernis, Wildnis (“wilderness”), Middle Dutch wildernisse (“wilderness”) (modern Dutch wildernis (“wilderness”)), Middle Low German wildernisse...
Words formed from wilderness
- Bogong Peaks Wilderness
- Byadbo Wilderness
- call in the wilderness
- cry in the wilderness
- Jagungal Wilderness
- nonwilderness
- Pilot Wilderness
- The Devils Wilderness
- voice calling in the wilderness
- voice crying in the wilderness
- voice in the wilderness
- wilderness camp
- wilderness program
- Wilderness Road
- wilderness therapy
- wilderness treatment center
- wildernessy
- wilderpee
Phrases with wilderness
Questions about wilderness
- What does wilderness mean?
- Wilderness means 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.
- What is wilderness in Hindi?
- Wilderness in Hindi is रंज (rañj), बियाबान (biyābān). See Wilderness meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use wilderness in a sentence?
- Thus they went on talking of what they had ſeen by the way; and ſo made that way eaſie, which would otherwiſe, no doubt, have been tedious to them: for now they went through a Wilderneſs.
- What part of speech is wilderness?
- Wilderness can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce wilderness?
- Wilderness is pronounced /ˈwɪldənəs/ (UK).
- What is the plural of wilderness?
- The plural of wilderness is wildernesses.
Words near wilderness in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wilderness (page history and authors); Wilderness (page history and authors); बियाबान (Hindi) (page history and authors); wilderness (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); بیابان (Urdu) (page history and authors); wilderness (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wilderness (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); wilderness (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); રણ (Gujarati) (page history and authors); मरु (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.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-wilderness.ogg.
Cite this entry: “wilderness.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wilderness. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.