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wandering

wandering

6 3.4
Traveling from place to place without a fixed place to go
  • noun
  • /ˈwɑndərɪŋ/
translation icon : vagar
  • When at last his wanderings brought him here, he turned his back on towns and people.
  • follow the wanderings
  • the wanderings take place

Then six months after that, the IACC coordinated with a group to conduct a study of wandering and elopement.

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Examples

  • A face that had seen many things; a face that somehow reflected deep wanderings in secret thoughts and paths.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The presence of camels, mountains, desert wells and springs took me back to the year I spent wandering the Sinai desert.

  • Tell me what you remember of your wanderings." "I remember sea.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • "Tell me about all your wanderings since you left us."

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Maybe I will put it more simply: I will tell about night wanderings.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Yet these visions and night wanderings have returned to you?

  • I talked about my wanderings as if I were a sage.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Initially, he hoped she could be persuaded to join him on his wanderings through France and Germany.

    Academic text (1999)
  • We'd picked up some of these rocks together in our wanderings and brought them back for this very purpose.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • During his wanderings across Europe, he discovered many hidden gems in small towns.

Synonyms

travel
vswandering
797 1.0

Going from one place to another for work or pleasure

focuses on aimless movement without a fixed course rather than journeys for specific reasons
traveling
vswandering
  • US
146 1.1

Going from one place to another, often over a distance

is about moving without a fixed course or clear destination rather than ordinary journeys
drifting
vswandering
6 5.0

Moving from place to place without a clear purpose

emphasizes movement without a fixed course rather than purpose
meandering
vswandering
5 6.1

A slow walk or a time of thinking without a clear plan

is a single travel act without a fixed course rather than repeated aimless moves
roving
vswandering
2 5.8

A period of traveling from place to place without a fixed home

is the general term naming that same aimless travel activity
peregrination
vswandering
  • Literature
1 9.9

A long trip visiting many different places

emphasizes aimless travel without a fixed course rather than planned long journeys
wayfaring
vswandering
1 8.4

Traveling on foot between different places

focuses on aimless travel without a fixed course rather than mode of movement
vagabonding
vswandering
1 8.1

A lifestyle of traveling freely without a fixed home

describes the single act of travel rather than a chosen long term lifestyle
vagabondage
vswandering
  • Archaic
9.9

Moving from place to place without a home or clear purpose

focuses on the travel act rather than lacking a permanent home

Antonyms

344 2.0

The place a person or thing is going to at the end of a journey

Compounds

wandering albatross
  • Australian
1 7.5

A very large sea bird that has a mostly white body and very long black wings and flies long distances

9.9

A story about a Jewish man who wanders the world as punishment for making fun of Jesus

wandering nerve
  • Specialized
7.7

A nerve that sends signals to the heart, lungs, stomach, and throat

How Aimless

drifting
6 5.0
wandering
6 3.4
rambling
2 5.1
stroll
92 1.2

Surface Forms

wandering singular
wanderings plural

Morphology

wandering = wander (transparent) = wander + ing

Gerundial formation from 'wander' indicating the activity; this noun sense is a regular and predictable use of -ing.

Etymology

Wandering as a noun comes from the verb wander, meaning 'to roam', so a person's wandering is the act of traveling without a fixed route or clear goal.