wanton

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But it would be unwise to start pontificating about this Protean word, for which the Oxford English Dictionary lists some fourteen different meanings, many with their own subsections, ranging from ` stupid, wanton, and indolent 'to

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Definitions (30)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (13)

  1. adjective Immoral or unchaste; lewd.
  2. adjective Gratuitously cruel; merciless.
  3. adjective Marked by unprovoked, gratuitous maliciousness; capricious and unjust: wanton destruction.
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Examples

  • But it would be unwise to start pontificating about this Protean word, for which the Oxford English Dictionary lists some fourteen different meanings, many with their own subsections, ranging from ` stupid, wanton, and indolent 'to —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VIII No 1
  • The word wanton, we are told, indicates the opposite of this baneful educated state, meaning "not pulled out," therefore intact in vital respects and gloriously lewd; ignorance was indeed bliss. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol III No 2
  • A wanton is a kind of — well, you know she ain't what she ought to be!” —  The Story of My Life
  • Maxwell land grant case, which he characterizes as a wanton and shameful surrender to the rapacity of monopolists of 1,662,764 acres of the public domain, on which hundreds of poor men had settled in good faith and made valuable improvements. —  Buchanan's Journal of Man, October 1887 Volume 1, Number 9
  • "I see." —  The Order War
 

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Wanton has been looked up 531 times, favorited 4 times, listed 95 times, and commented on 11 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

wicked ·  reckless ·  barbarous ·  foolish ·  heartless ·  senseless ·  malicious ·  outrageous ·  frivolous ·  sensual ·  shameless ·  deliberate
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English wantowen : wan-, not, lacking (from Old English; see euə- in Indo-European roots) + towen, past participle of teen, to bring up (from Old English tēon, to lead, draw; see deuk- in Indo-European roots).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from wanton, adjective
 

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/ˈwɑntən/
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