wild

Something that grows or lives without any assistance from human beings is "wild." You can use this adjective to describe trees, plants, animals, insects, and–sometimes–people.

• We found some wild berries growing in a field.
• Be careful when you walk in the forest. You might come across a wild animal.
• You don’t see very many wild animals when you live in a city.
• It was interesting to see so many alligators living in the wild when we visited Florida. ("the wild" functions as a noun in this sentence.)
• A lot of interesting weeds grow wild in our backyard.

The word "wilderness" is similar to "wild."

• Wolves are found in wilderness areas.
• They live in the wilderness.

wolf

You can use "wild" to describe a person or describe your personal feelings about something:

• She has kind of a wild personality. At parties she does a lot of crazy things.
• The kids down the street are a little wild. Their parents let them do whatever they want.
• Teenage girls are wild about the singing group, One Direction.
• I’m not wild about this new design for the website. (not wild about = dislike)
• Bert says his new girlfriend, Jennifer, drives him wild. (drive one wild = to cause intense feelings of pleasure)
• That’s wild. (That’s very interesting!)
• He’s wild and crazy.

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This page was first published on May 3, 2012. It was updated on January 27, 2016.