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Glite Dictionary
to run wild

to run wild

33 3.9
Act without control or limits
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : descontrolarse
  • Lots of noise and chaos as kids run wild during lunch recess.
  • let your imagination run wild
  • let it run wild
  • children run wild

But of course, you know, Ethereum has been running wild since this lawsuit.

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Examples

  • People's gardens were running wild in the heat, and the scent of greenery, soil, and blooms was strong.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • What we want is to be able to run wild with no consequences to our actions.

    YaleCourses

  • Will you let him run wild through town all day?

    Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

  • Let the animals run wild!

    Madagascar (2005)

  • Knowing she would be safe, we let her run wild up and down the street.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • We need to catch these young people who are running wild, creating chaos across our city and hold them in custody and prosecute them.

  • Drinking was condoned; sexual liaisons were common; children ran wild through the lanes.

    Academic text (1994)

  • I had a ten-year-old son running wild at the time they yanked my wisdom teeth.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The children were allowed to run wild in the park during the summer vacation.

  • Without supervision, the dogs began to run wild around the yard, barking and playing.

Synonyms

to run amok
vsto run wild
20 7.5

To act wildly and cause chaos

means behaving without restraint but not always violent or destructive
to go rogue
vsto run wild
19 7.5

To act alone and ignore rules or orders

involves breaking away from rules rather than simply lacking any restraint
to run rampant
vsto run wild
15 5.7

To spread quickly, get out of control, and cause harm

focuses more on behaviour or development without implying spread or harm
to let loose
vsto run wild
  • Informal
12 3.9

Relax and enjoy yourself without worrying

describes uncontrolled behaviour starting by itself rather than being allowed
to run riot
vsto run wild
2 5.8

Behave in a wild way without control

behaves without restraint or limits generally rather than noisy excess
to wildin'
vsto run wild
  • Slang
9.9

To act crazy and out of control for fun or excitement

is broader covering serious or calm uncontrolled growth as well

Antonyms

to limit
∞ 2.1

To control how much or how often something happens

to restrain
86 4.6

Hold a person or thing so it cannot move freely

How Wild

to run wild
33 3.9
to restrain
72 4.6

Surface Forms

run wild infinitive
ran wild past
ran wild past participle
running wild present participle
runs wild third person singular

Morphology

run + wild

The meaning 'to behave or develop without restraint' is directly derivable from combining 'run' (to move or act freely) with 'wild' (unrestrained); a learner who knows both words can infer the sense. The verb + adjective pattern meaning 'become X' is common cross-linguistically, so the expression does not require specific idiomatic knowledge.

Etymology

The phrasal verb run wild comes from the image of animals let out of a pen so they run freely in the wild. That's why we use it for people, ideas, or things that grow or behave without control, meaning 'to behave or develop without restraint'.