ranging

5.1

Moving freely over a wide area or from one topic to another

adjective
/ˈreɪnʤɪŋ/

: errante

A comprehensive, wide-ranging plan for the kind of country we want to be.

Examples

You will hear more details shortly about Tony's wide-ranging intellectual contributions.
His interests are wide-ranging, from art and history to science and technology.
So this course will be wide-ranging in that sense.
But it's a pretty wide-ranging right wing site.
This pattern of, of anxiety and this this wide-ranging worry about a range of issues.
So without further ado, please enjoy my very, very wide-ranging conversation with Walter O'Brien.
It shouldn't surprise us that Margot has a keen and far ranging appetite for learning and observation.
But without further ado, please enjoy this very wide-ranging conversation with Doug McMillan.
The wide-ranging discussions at the conference covered many important topics.
The research team conducted wide-ranging interviews to gather diverse perspectives.

Synonyms

to wander

vsranging

379 1.3

Move around without a fixed direction, often slowly and in curves

stresses free wide movement rather than a gentle or winding motion

to roam

vsranging

189 2.5

Move around without a fixed place, often while looking for something

describes free wide movement without implying a search or aim

to range

vsranging

25 3.3

To move or travel freely over an area

is the same meaning but expressed as an ongoing descriptive form

wandering

vsranging

6 3.4

Traveling from place to place without a fixed place to go

refers to the movement itself across wide areas rather than the activity

roaming freely

vsranging

2 3.7

To move around without fences or other limits

emphasizes moving over a wide area rather than only lacking limits

roving

vsranging

2 4.1

Moving from place to place without a fixed home

means free wide motion but not limited to being without a home

Antonyms

restricted

18 3.9

Limited so only certain people can see or use it

confined

3.7

Kept in one small space and unable to leave

Compounds

radio detection and ranging

Specialized

4.2

A system that finds distant objects like planes or ships by sending radio pulses and hearing echoes

ranging pole

8.5

A long straight pole with red and white bands used to mark positions when measuring land

sound ranging

Specialized

9.5

A method of finding where a sound comes from by measuring how long it takes to reach microphones

How Wide

ranging

5.1

to roam

189 2.5

to wander

379 1.3

Surface Forms

ranging positive

Morphology

ranging = range (transparent) = range + ing

Standard adjectival use of the verb 'range' with '-ing'; the meaning 'moving or roaming' is directly derivable from the base verb.

Etymology

Ranging comes from an old word for 'row' or 'line', the same idea you see in arrange and rank, and over time it came to mean moving across an area. So, to be ranging is to move or wander freely over a wide space.