wilderness

noun

wil·​der·​ness ˈwil-dər-nəs 

1

a(1)

: a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings

(2)

: an area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community

b

: an empty or pathless area or region

in remote wildernesses of space groups of nebulae are found

—G. W. Gray †1960

c

: a part of a garden devoted to wild growth

2

obsolete : wild or uncultivated state

3

a

: a confusing multitude or mass : an indefinitely great number or quantity

I would not have given it for a wilderness of monkeys

—William Shakespeare

b

: a bewildering situation

those moral wildernesses of civilized life

—Norman Mailer

Synonyms

• nature
• open
• open air
• out-of-doors
• outdoors
• wild

Examples of wilderness in a Sentence

She enjoys hikes through the wilderness.

released the wolf back into the wilderness

Recent Examples on the Web

Cedar Key sits off a part of Florida that is home to large swaths of mangrove wilderness, including Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve and Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park. —Mark Price, Miami Herald, 18 Mar. 2025

In the course of the nineteen-eighties, New York transformed from a flaming wasteland of muggings, languid professionalism, and underground parties into a despoiled wilderness of muggings, careerism, and public glitz. —Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2025

On the very first day after his team’s plane to nationals crashed in the Canadian wilderness, Misty Quigley (Samantha Hanratty) amputated Ben’s leg with an ax. —Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025

Democrats shall not exile themselves into the political wilderness while Trump runs roughshod over American institutions. —Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from wildern wild, from Old English wilddēoren of wild beasts

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing wilderness

• wilderness area

Kids Definition

wilderness

noun

wil·​der·​ness ˈwil-dər-nəs 

: an area in which few people live that is not used for farming and is more or less in its natural state