wantonness
/ˈwɑntənnəs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.60 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The state or characteristic of being wanton; recklessness, especially as represented in lascivious or other excessive behavior.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The ſpirit of vvantonness is, ſure, ſcared out of him: if the devil have him not in fee-ſimple, vvith fine and recovery, he vvill never, I think, in the vvay of vvaſte, attempt us again."
- "A vvantonneſſe in vvealth, methinks I agree not vvith, / Tis ſuch a trouble to be married too, / And have a thouſand things of great importance, / Jevvells and plates, and fooleries moleſt mee, / To have a mans brains vvhimſied with his vvealth: […]"
- "A Svveet diſorder in the dreſſe / Kindles in cloathes a vvantonneſſe: […]"
- "The desert Pelican had built her nest / In that deep solitude. / And now returned from distant flight / Fraught with the river stream, / Her load of water had disburthened there. / Her young in the refreshing bath / Sported all wantonness; […]"
- "The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness."
- "These were simply the wantonnesses of a dishonest man."
Etymology
From Middle English wantonnesse, wantonesse, wantounesse, wantownesse, equivalent to wanton + -ness.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwɑntənnəs/
- British English: /ˈwɒntənnəs/