wild
- adjective
- /waɪld/
- It's a wild idea, but it just might work.
- wild ideas
- wild speculation
- wild imagination
I mean, OK, that this is wild, wild speculation, OK?
- I mean, OK, that this is wild, wild speculation, OK?
- You know what I call that Eric in wild ass speculation.
- Plus, Trump is willing to take wild shots no one else would take.
- While this might sound like a wild scheme, it wasn't entirely new.
Examples
-
Here's a wild idea.
-
I just had a wild idea.
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I mean, it's such a wild, unexpected thing.
-
What's the most wild thing you guys have done here?
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"I thought it was just one of those wild space tales, like the old ghost ship."
Fiction book (1990) -
Annie, I have had it with your wild imagination.
-
If it could all be done by one wild, desperate dash, we would do it.
Academic text (2003) -
I'll take a wild guess that's not him, either.
-
From then on, he wrestled with the notion of a wild woman for a mother.
Fiction book (1992) -
While his plan seemed risky and wild, it had the potential to revolutionize the industry.
Synonyms
Very strange or unusual in a way that surprises people
Likely to cause loss, harm, or danger
Likely to cause harm or danger
Willing to try new and sometimes risky things
To take bold risks and do daring things
An idea or plan that is very foolish and not well thought out
Willing to take risks to try new things
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
A saying that you should not expect a wild person or thing to behave calmly
Compounds
- US
A time in the western United States when settlers moved in and there were few laws
- Jargon
In baseball, a pitch the catcher cannot catch that lets a base runner advance
- Offensive
A woman who does not follow normal social rules and is often avoided by others
- Archaic
A live show with cowboys riding horses, shooting, and showing life in the old West
A water bird like a mallard that lives in lakes and rivers and is not kept by people
A strong-smelling plant with broad leaves that grows in woods and people use in cooking
A traveling American show from the 1880s that showed horse riding, shooting and frontier life
A plant with a thick underground root used in traditional medicine for joint pain or liver problems
A large wild animal like a donkey that lives on dry plains in Asia and northeast Africa
A tall rough grass from North America with spiky flower heads that grows in open grassland
- South African
A wild donkey from dry northeastern Africa that is the ancestor of the domestic donkey
- Specialized
A large wild animal like a big cow that lives in Asian forests and grasslands
A shrub that grows in southern Arizona and Mexico and has seed pods with soft fibers like cotton
A place where injured wild animals get care and recover safely
- US
A plant that grows every year in dry parts of southwestern US and Mexico and has small tubers like potatoes
A tropical plant that grows along the ground or climbs and has a large root people eat
- US
A climbing plant of dry areas that grows small hard green fruits people cannot eat
A low bog bush from northern Europe and Asia with leaves that smell strong and pleasant, not the cooking herb
A North American wild plant with sweet-smelling roots used for drinks and medicine
- UK
A wild Mediterranean grass that is the original form of the grain grown for food
- US
A North American plant with bright yellow flowers whose leaves people use as medicine
A plant with bright yellow and orange flowers that grows wild and can be a weed
A European tree with lobed leaves and small brown spotted fruits you can eat
- US
A wild plant from South America and Mexico with leaves used for smoking and not usually grown for sale
How Risky
Surface Forms
Etymology
Wild came from a word for 'untamed', and that sense of being outside the usual rules helps explain why a wild idea is risky, unconventional, or unrealistic.