wanton

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“
I made up my mind to submit gaily, called her wanton, and said I was not worth the pains she was taking over me What astonishes me," said I, "is that with this fine house you do not care to entertain company Everybody is afraid to come; they fear Ricla's jealousy, for it is well known that that animal who is now suffering from the colic tells him everything I do.

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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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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (4)

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Examples (50)

  • When our wanton waste and destruction continues unabated? —  The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed
  • A judge has already ruled that Dorton cannot bring a claim against Hendrick Motorsports because it is a workers compensation issue, but she is bringing a separate claim against the pilots 'estates for "willful, wanton, and reckless negligence." —  Latest Daily Headlines
  • That was totally wanton, as the Boro player had his back to goal. —  Sport news, comment and results | guardian.co.uk
  • It's when the wanton waste we piled up from profligate spending on borrowed money caves in and buries us six feet down the pits.
  • Remembering the late nights, sneaking with parental permission, it was great at the time to be so wanton -- okay I was only in the single digits, it was as wanton as I could get. —  The Lipstick Chronicles
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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

Used in the same contextWord Family

wanton:   Wanton
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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