<B>wilder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Poetic or Archaic.) <DD><I>v.t. </I> to bewilder. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to lose one's way; be perplexed. </DL>
<A NAME="wilderness">
<B>wilderness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>a wild place; region with no people living in it. <DD><B> b. </B>a waste or desolate region of any kind, such as the open sea or the arctic regions. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a bewildering mass or collection. <BR> <I>Ex. a wilderness of streets.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) uncultivated condition; wildness. </DL>
<A NAME="wildernessarea">
<B>wilderness area,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) an area of virgin land 100,000 acres or more in extent, set apart by law as a national park. </DL>
<B>wildfire, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of certain substances easily set on fire whose flames could not be put out with water, formerly used in warfare. <DD><B> 2. </B>any fire hard to put out. <DD><B> 3. </B>sheet lightning without audible thunder; heat lightning. <DD><B> 4. </B><B>=will-o'-the-wisp.</B> <DD><B> 5. </B>any one of various inflammatory, eruptive diseases, especially of sheep. <DD><B> 6. </B>a bacterial wilt of tobacco plants. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Obsolete.) erysipelas or a similar disease. <DD><B> 8. </B>(Obsolete.) furious or destructive fire; conflagration. <BR><I>expr. <B>like wildfire,</B> </I>very rapidly. <BR> <I>Ex. We can't keep up with the demand. ... Sales are growing like wildfire (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<B>wild flower,</B> or <B>wildflower, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any uncultivated flowering plant. <DD><B> 2. </B>the flower of such a plant. </DL>
<A NAME="wildfowl">
<B>wild fowl,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>birds ordinarily hunted, such as wild ducks or geese, partridges, quails, and pheasants. <DD><B> 2. </B>any such bird. </DL>
<A NAME="wildfowler">
<B>wild-fowler, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hunter of wild fowl. <BR> <I>Ex. Wild-fowlers will find much to interest them in the display of duck decoys (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="wildfowling">
<B>wild-fowling, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the hunting of wild fowl for sport. </DL>
<A NAME="wildginger">
<B>wild ginger,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an aromatic herb of the birthwort family with heart-shaped leaves, common in moist areas of temperate North America; false coltsfoot. </DL>
<A NAME="wildgoose">
<B>wild goose,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any undomesticated goose, such as the graylag of Great Britain or the Canada goose of North America. </DL>
<A NAME="wildgoosechase">
<B>wild-goose chase,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a useless search or attempt; foolish or hopeless quest. <DD><B> 2. </B>an erratic course taken or led by one person (or thing) and followed (or that may be followed) by another. </DL>
<A NAME="wildhoneysuckle">
<B>wild honeysuckle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of several uncultivated varieties of honeysuckle. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=pinxter flower.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="wildhorse">
<B>wild horse,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an untamed horse. <DD><B> 2. </B>a domestic horse run wild, or a wild descendant of such a horse. </DL>
<A NAME="wildhyacinth">
<B>wild hyacinth,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a plant, a camass, of eastern North America, bearing white or blue flowers. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=bluebell.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="wildindigo">
<B>wild indigo,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of American perennial plants of the pea family, especially a yellow-flowered species whose root is used as a purgative; false indigo. </DL>
<A NAME="wilding">
<B>wilding, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a plant or animal that is wild or grows without cultivation. <DD><B> 2a. </B>a wild crab-apple tree. <DD><B> b. </B>its fruit. <DD><B> 3. </B>a plant once cultivated but now growing wild; escape. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) <DD><B> a. </B>any person or thing that deviates from or refuses to conform with the multitude or norm of its type. <DD><B> b. </B>(Slang.) a violent group attack on strangers, for the sake of violence. <BR> <I>Ex. the random, apparently motiveless rampage ... the suspects in the case call wilding (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> growing wild; wild. </DL>
<B>wildland, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> land in its natural state; uncultivated land. </DL>
<A NAME="wildleek">
<B>wild leek,</B> <B>=ramp</B> (3).</DL>
<A NAME="wildlettuce">
<B>wild lettuce,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any uncultivated species of lettuce growing as a weed, especially a prickly-stemmed European species with yellow flower heads. </DL>
<A NAME="wildlife">
<B>wildlife, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> animals and plants in the natural state, especially as they exist in national parks or other lands in the public domain, under government programs of conservation; wild animals. <BR> <I>Ex. The forest ranger is familiar with most of the wildlife of his state. Widespread use of DDT in strong concentrations endangers human beings as well as wildlife (Science News Letter).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> of or for wildlife. <BR> <I>Ex. wildlife conservation.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="wildlifer">
<B>wildlifer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who strongly advocates the protection of wildlife. </DL>
<A NAME="wildling">
<B>wildling, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a wild plant or animal. </DL>
<A NAME="wildmadder">
<B>wild madder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=madder </B>(def. 1). <DD><B> 2. </B>either of two bedstraws, especially the white bedstraw. </DL>
<B>wild oats,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>Also, <B>wild oat.</B> any one of a group of grasses growing as weeds in meadows and other open areas, especially a tall grass resembling the cultivated oat. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) youthful dissipation. <BR><I>expr. <B>sow one's wild oats,</B> </I>to indulge in youthful dissipation before settling down in life. <BR> <I>Ex. A young man must sow his wild oats and reform (Frederick W. Robertson).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="wildolive">
<B>wild olive,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of various trees resembling the olive or bearing similar fruit. <DD><B> 2. </B>the wild variety of the cultivated olive, having more or less thorny branches and small, worthless fruit; oleaster. </DL>
<A NAME="wildpansy">
<B>wild pansy,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the common pansy, occurring as a weed, especially in grainfields and other open areas, with small flowers compounded of purple, yellow, and white; heartsease; Johnny-jump-up; love-in-idleness. </DL>
<A NAME="wildparsley">
<B>wild parsley,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several weeds of the parsley family, with foliage like that of the parsley. </DL>
<A NAME="wildparsnip">
<B>wild parsnip,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a weed of the parsley family, found in Europe and America, from which the cultivated parsnip originated. </DL>
<A NAME="wildpeach">
<B>wild peach,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of American trees or shrubs of the rose family, especially the cherry laurel. </DL>
<A NAME="wildpink">
<B>wild pink,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a catchfly or campion of eastern North America, with notched petals and white or pink flowers. </DL>
<A NAME="wildpitch">
<B>wild pitch,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Baseball.) a ball pitched out of control that the catcher cannot stop and that results in a base runner advancing. </DL>
<A NAME="wildrice">
<B>wild rice,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a North American aquatic grass, whose grain is used for food. </DL>
<A NAME="wildrose">
<B>wild rose,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various roses that grow wild, such as the sweetbrier and dog rose. </DL>
<A NAME="wildrubber">
<B>wild rubber,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> rubber from trees growing wild, especially from a Brazilian species. </DL>
<A NAME="wildrye">
<B>wild rye,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of grasses that resemble rye. </DL>
<A NAME="wilds">
<B>wilds, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>wild.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="wildsage">
<B>wild sage,</B> <B>=red sage.</B></DL>
<A NAME="wildsenna">
<B>wild senna,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a plant growing in the eastern United States that is three or four feet high, has yellow flowers, and whose dried leaves are used as a laxative. </DL>
<A NAME="wildservicetree">
<B>wild service tree,</B> <B>=service tree.</B></DL>
<A NAME="wildsilk">
<B>wild silk,</B> <B>=tussah </B>(def. 1).</DL>
<A NAME="wildspinach">
<B>wild spinach,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several plants occasionally used as a spinach substitute. </DL>
<A NAME="wildstrawberry">
<B>wild strawberry,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of various wild varieties of strawberry, from which the cultivated forms have been developed. <DD><B> 2. </B>their reddish, edible fruit. </DL>
<A NAME="wildthyme">
<B>wild thyme,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a creeping evergreen of the mint family. </DL>
<A NAME="wildtrack">
<B>wild-track, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a sound track that intentionally diverges from or does not synchronize with the action shown on film. <BR> <I>Ex. A simple, straightforward commentary and some "wild-track" recording of music and dialogue (one wonders if the dialogue actually relates to the scenes one is witnessing) add to the realism of the visuals (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="wildturkey">
<B>wild turkey,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various nondomesticated American turkeys, especially one living in the woodlands of the eastern and southern United States and Mexico, which closely resembles the common domestic turkey that was developed from it. </DL>
<A NAME="wildtype">
<B>wild-type, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Genetics.) of or belonging to the normal strain or ordinary type of an organism, as distinguished from a mutant strain or type. <BR> <I>Ex. a wild-type gene, a wild-type virus.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="wildvanilla">
<B>wild vanilla,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a perennial composite herb of the southeastern United States, whose leaves smell like vanilla. </DL>
