Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wilderness

/ˈwɪldɚnəs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.95 in modern English

Syllables
wild-er-ness
IPA
/ˈwɪldɚnəs/
14
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Uncultivated and unsettled land in its natural state inhabited by wild animals and with vegetation growing wild; (countable) a tract of such land; a waste or wild.

Uncountable

noun

A place other than land (for example, the air or sea) that is uncared for, and therefore devoted to disorder or wildness.

Countable

noun

An ornamental part of a garden or park cultivated with trees and often a maze to evoke a natural wilderness.

Countable

noun

Unrefinedness; wildness.

Obsolete; Uncountable

noun

Chiefly followed by of: a bewildering flock or throng; a large, often jumbled, collection of things.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A place or situation that is bewildering and in which one may get lost.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Preceded by in the: a situation of disfavour or lack of recognition; (specifically, politics) of a politician, political party, etc.: a situation of being out of office.

Countable; Uncountable

name

A forested region of central Virginia.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English wildernes, wildernesse (“desolate or uninhabited place, desolation”) [and other forms], and then either: * from Middle English wilderne (“deserted or uninhabited place, wilderness; land not yet settled”) [and other forms] (from Old English wilddeōren (“savage, wild”); see below) + -nes, -nesse (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting qualities or states); or * from Old English *wildēornes, *wilddēornes, either from wilddēor (“wild animal”) [and other forms] or wilddēoren (“savage, wild”) (from wilddēor + -en (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘consisting of; material made of’)) + -nes (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting qualities or states). Wilddēor is derived from wilde (“savage, wild”) (ultimately either from Proto-Indo-European *wel-, *welw- (“hair, wool; ear of corn, grass; forest”), or *gʷʰel- (“wild”)) + dēor (“beast, wild animal”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwes- (“to breathe; breath; soul, spirit; creature”)). The English word is cognate with Danish vildnis (“wilderness”), German Wildernis, Wildnis (“wilderness”), Middle Dutch wildernisse (“wilderness”) (modern Dutch wildernis (“wilderness”)), Middle Low German wildernisse (“wilderness”) (German Low German Wildernis (“wilderness”)), Saterland Frisian Wüüldernis (“wilderness”), West Frisian wyldernis (“wilderness”). Sense 3.3 (“situation of disfavour or lack of recognition”) is a reference to Numbers 14:32–33 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness.”

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *wel-, wildernes, wilderne, wilddeōren, *wildēornes, *dʰwes-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈwɪldɚnəs/
  • British English: /ˈwɪldənəs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

wildernesses (plural) wildernesse (alternative) the Wilderness (canonical)

Derived Forms

nonwilderness wildernessy wilderpee

Phrases

Bogong Peaks Wilderness Byadbo Wilderness call in the wilderness cry in the wilderness Jagungal Wilderness Pilot Wilderness The Devils Wilderness voice calling in the wilderness

Frequently Paired Words

rewilding wildness remote place backcountry boondock boonies countryside

Synonyms

bushland wildland wilds wasteland wasteness wastness wild wilderness

Questions

How do you pronounce wilderness?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwɪldɚnəs/.
What does wilderness mean?
Uncultivated and unsettled land in its natural state inhabited by wild animals and with vegetation growing wild; (countable) a tract of such land; a waste or wild.
Where does wilderness come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce wilderness

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wilderness”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwɪldɚnəs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wilderness”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “wilderness” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.