wildcat
8.0
Not officially allowed and often risky, for example in strikes
- adjective
- /ˈwaɪldˌkæt/
:
no autorizado
- Many companies are now hesitant to pursue wildcat drilling in environmentally sensitive areas.
These banks aren't the nickname of Wildcat banks for a reputation of unreliability.
- These banks aren't the nickname of Wildcat banks for a reputation of unreliability.
Examples
-
His wildcat investment strategy involved taking risks on startups without proper research.
-
The conflict between workers' masculinized work culture of intractable insubordination and the morality of labor and the left crystallized during wildcat work stoppages in the mine.
Academic text (1996) -
The workers organized a wildcat strike to demand better pay and conditions.
Synonyms
110
4.5
Not officially allowed to do something
adds a risky or speculative element beyond mere lack of permission
Antonyms
Compounds
How Authorized
Surface Forms
wildcat positive
Morphology
Etymology
The word wildcat used as an adjective means 'without official approval' and comes from the idea of something sudden and uncontrolled, like a wild cat acting on its own. So a wildcat strike or action is a surprise and not officially allowed.