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wild

wild

170 4.2
Risky or not likely to work
  • adjective
  • /waɪld/
translation icon : descabellado
  • 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?

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Examples

  • Here's a wild idea.

  • I just had a wild idea.

  • I mean, it's such a wild, unexpected thing.

  • What's the most wild thing you guys have done here?

  • "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

crazy
vswild
  • Informal
1.4

Very strange or unusual in a way that surprises people

emphasizes risk and foolishness more than mere strangeness
risky
vswild
269 3.6

Likely to cause loss, harm, or danger

adds unconventional or unrealistic and sometimes foolish element beyond danger
hazardous
vswild
98 5.2

Likely to cause harm or danger

is broader, also covering unconventional or foolish choices, not only danger
adventurous
vswild
65 3.6

Willing to try new and sometimes risky things

focuses more on risky or foolish ideas than on seeking fun
audacious
vswild
26 7.6

To take bold risks and do daring things

includes risk but also suggests unrealistic or foolish choices
harebrained
vswild
  • Informal
10 8.5

An idea or plan that is very foolish and not well thought out

is risky or unconventional rather than purely foolish
daring
vswild
3 3.4

Willing to take risks to try new things

covers risky and possibly foolish or unrealistic plans rather than bravery

Antonyms

507 2.6

About how something works in real life rather than in ideas

201 2.7

Showing good judgment and making practical choices

Idioms

To have many short sexual relationships when young

1 8.2

To do risky, adventurous things outside your usual life

9.6

Behave carelessly and have many romantic adventures before settling down

9.4

Feeling very angry and upset

A saying that you should not expect a wild person or thing to behave calmly

Compounds

64 1.0

An animal that lives in nature and is not kept by people

22 3.4

A mammal like a dog that is not kept as a pet and lives in groups

wild-goose chase
  • Informal
22 6.6

A hopeless search for something that does not exist

18 2.7

A horse that lives in nature and is not tame

17 5.3

A time in the western United States when settlers moved in and there were few laws

wild man
  • Offensive
15 7.5

A person who lives apart from others and acts like an animal

15 3.6

An exciting, fast attraction at an amusement park like a roller coaster

9 3.4

A large wild pig that lives in forests and has long tusks

wild story
  • Informal
7 4.6

A very exciting tale that is often not true

wild pitch
  • Jargon
5 6.3

In baseball, a pitch the catcher cannot catch that lets a base runner advance

4 3.3

A long dark grain from water plants that people cook and eat

4 3.8

A playing card a player can use to represent any other card

4 5.0

A person or thing that is unpredictable and can change the result

3 7.6

Having a staring, wide-eyed look that shows fear or strong excitement

wild type
  • Specialized
2 4.8

The usual natural form of a species or gene

wild woman
  • Offensive
2 7.8

A woman who does not follow normal social rules and is often avoided by others

wild blue yonder
  • Literature
2 7.1

The open blue sky far above the ground

1 1.8

A small sweet red fruit that grows wild on a low plant

Wild West show
  • Archaic
1 6.3

A live show with cowboys riding horses, shooting, and showing life in the old West

1 2.0

A water bird like a mallard that lives in lakes and rivers and is not kept by people

1 3.0

A strong-smelling plant with broad leaves that grows in woods and people use in cooking

wild type
  • Specialized
1 5.5

Having the usual natural form of a gene or organism

1 4.6

A small apple tree that grows naturally with tart fruit

1 1.3

A flower that grows naturally without being planted by people

1 3.8

A wild plant like a small onion with edible bulbs and a strong smell

A traveling American show from the 1880s that showed horse riding, shooting and frontier life

A plant that grows naturally and makes small red or orange berries you can eat

1 6.1

A small plant with purple flowers that smells nice and is used in cooking

1 7.2

A plant with a thick underground root used in traditional medicine for joint pain or liver problems

1 7.4

A large wild animal like a donkey that lives on dry plains in Asia and northeast Africa

A small tree that grows in the wild and produces cherries

1 4.8

A tall plant with thin leaves and small white flowers often found in meadows

1 7.4

A rough plant with a large bulb and tall stalk that has greenish purple flowers

1 4.2

A weed with bright yellow flowers that grows in farm fields

1 9.9

A small plant with yellow hanging bell-shaped flowers that grows in woods

1 6.7

A grass like oats that grows in fields and is often a weed

1 8.5

A small tree with fragrant flowers and bitter, inedible fruit

A tall rough grass from North America with spiky flower heads that grows in open grassland

African wild ass
  • South African
7.2

A wild donkey from dry northeastern Africa that is the ancestor of the domestic donkey

Asian wild ox
  • Specialized
8.3

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 wild onion plant with drooping white to pink flowers

A place where injured wild animals get care and recover safely

A wild grass with thin upright stems that often grows as a weed in fields

8.3

A vine that makes edible pods underground like peanuts

4.4

A climbing plant like the garden pea that grows in the wild

7.1

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

8.4

A climbing plant of dry areas that grows small hard green fruits people cannot eat

9.8

A strong herb with white flowers whose leaves people use to treat skin problems

6.1

A wild plant with pink or white flowers that grows in North America

A small tree or bush that grows naturally and has small plum fruits

3.5

A small tree or bush that grows naturally and makes plums

5.2

A small tart fruit from a tree or bush that grows naturally

6.1

A plant like a radish with yellow or pale purple flowers and long seed pods

7.9

A low bog bush from northern Europe and Asia with leaves that smell strong and pleasant, not the cooking herb

6.2

A long grass that grows naturally in fields and helps hold soil and feed animals

5.6

A wild-growing plant with blue flowers and strong-smelling leaves

A North American wild plant with sweet-smelling roots used for drinks and medicine

9.1

A wild plant like a cabbage with yellow or white flowers and long seed pods

9.2

A wild Mediterranean grass that is the original form of the grain grown for food

A North American plant whose fragrant roots flavor drinks

7.4

A North American plant with bright yellow flowers whose leaves people use as medicine

A caterpillar that lives in the wild and makes strong silk in a cocoon

A plant with bright yellow and orange flowers that grows wild and can be a weed

Green leaves that grow wild and people collect to eat

9.6

A plant that lives for many years with showy white parts that look like petals

A tropical plant whose small leaf parts close when touched

A European tree with lobed leaves and small brown spotted fruits you can eat

A sheep that lives in nature and is not kept by people

wild Shitmas party
  • Offensive
9.9

A loud, very noisy Christmas party with out of control behavior

7.5

A wild plant from South America and Mexico with leaves used for smoking and not usually grown for sale

8.9

A plant with leaves that smell like vanilla when crushed

How Risky

reckless
193 3.6
foolhardy
16 7.4
wild
170 4.2
risky
269 3.6
daring
3 3.4

Surface Forms

wild positive
wilder comparative
wildest superlative

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.