wilderness

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wil·der·ness

(wĭl′dər-nĭs)

1. An unsettled, uncultivated region, especially:

a. A large tract of land that has not been significantly affected by human activities.

b. A tract of land officially protected from development and other high-impact human activities.

c. A barren or desolate area; a wasteland.

2. Something characterized by bewildering vastness, perilousness, or unchecked profusion: a wilderness of unknown city streets; a wilderness of voices.

3. A state of neglect, powerlessness, or disfavor: "The failure of the Clinton health plan in 1994 opened the door to the Republicans' capture of Congress after forty years in the wilderness" (Jacob S. Hacker).

[Middle English, from Old English *wilddēornes, probably from wilddēor, wild beast : wilde, wild + dēor, wild animal.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

wilderness

(ˈwɪldənɪs)

1. (Physical Geography) a wild, uninhabited, and uncultivated region

2. any desolate tract or area

3. a confused mass or collection

4. a voice in the wilderness a voice crying in the wilderness a person, group, etc, making a suggestion or plea that is ignored

5. in the wilderness no longer having influence, recognition, or publicity

[Old English wildēornes, from wildēor wild beast (from wild + dēor beast, deer) + -ness; related to Middle Dutch wildernisse, German Wildernis]

Wilderness

(ˈwɪldənɪs)

1. (Placename) the Wilderness the barren regions to the south and east of Palestine, esp those in which the Israelites wandered before entering the Promised Land and in which Christ fasted for 40 days and nights

2. (Theology) the Wilderness the barren regions to the south and east of Palestine, esp those in which the Israelites wandered before entering the Promised Land and in which Christ fasted for 40 days and nights

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wil•der•ness

(ˈwɪl dər nɪs)

n.

1. a wild, uncultivated, uninhabited region, as of forest or desert.

2. a part of a garden set apart for plants to grow unchecked.

3. a bewildering mass or collection.

[1150–1200; Middle English; Old English *wil(d)dēornes= either wil(d)dēor wild beast (see wild, deer) + -nes -ness, or wilddēoren wild, savage (wilddēor + -en -en²) + (-n)es -ness]

Wil•der•ness

(ˈwɪl dər nɪs)

n.

a wooded area in NE Virginia: several battles fought here in 1864 between the armies of Grant and Lee.

Wilderness

a mingled confusion; a large number of people, animals, or things, 1588.

Examples: wilderness of interminable air, 1821; of books, 1868; of more rare conceits, 1824; of enquiry, 1664; of faults or follies, 1775; of masts on the rivers, 1857; of monkeys, 1596; of sea, 1588; of steeples, 1857; of tigers, 1588; of trees, 1613; of waves, 1865; of wretches, 1616.

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Noun	1.	wilderness - (politics) a state of disfavor; "he led the Democratic party back from the wilderness" political relation, politics - social relations involving intrigue to gain authority or power; "office politics is often counterproductive" disfavor, disfavour - the state of being out of favor; "he is in disfavor with the king"
	2.	Wilderness - a wooded region in northeastern Virginia near Spotsylvania where bloody but inconclusive battles were fought in the American Civil War Old Dominion, Old Dominion State, VA, Virginia - a state in the eastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies; one of the Confederate States in the American Civil War
	3.	wilderness - a wild and uninhabited area left in its natural condition; "it was a wilderness preserved for the hawks and mountaineers" wild barren, wasteland, waste - an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation; "the barrens of central Africa"; "the trackless wastes of the desert" bush - a large wilderness area frontier - a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country; "the individualism of the frontier in Andrew Jackson's day" geographic area, geographic region, geographical area, geographical region - a demarcated area of the Earth
	4.	wilderness - a bewildering profusion; "the duties of citizenship are lost sight of in the wilderness of interests of individuals and groups"; "a wilderness of masts in the harbor" profuseness, profusion, richness, cornucopia - the property of being extremely abundant; "the profusion of detail"; "the idiomatic richness of English"

wilderness

noun

1. wilds, waste, desert, wasteland, uncultivated region He looked out over a wilderness of mountain, lake and forest.

2. tangle, confusion, maze, muddle, clutter, jumble, welter, congeries, confused mass The neglected cemetery was a wilderness of crumbling gravestones and parched grass.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

wilderness

noun

1. A tract of unproductive land:

badlands, barren (often used in plural), desert, waste, wasteland.

2. An uninhabited region left in its natural state:

bush, wild, wildness.

Translations

قَفْر، بَريَّه

divočina

ødemarkørken

Wildnis Wildheit

έρημος

desierto montetierra salvajetierra virgen

erämaakairakorpi

désertérème

óbyggî, öræfi, eyîimörk

deserto luogo selvaggio

dykynė

tuksnesīga/mežonīga vieta

dziczmanowcepustkowiepustynia

mato

vahşî araziyaban

荒野

wilderness

[ˈwɪldənɪs] N (= desert) → desierto m; (= hills) → monte m; (= virgin land) → tierra f virgen
a wilderness of ruins → un desierto de ruinas
he spent four years in the wilderness before returning to power (fig) → pasó cuatro años al margen de la política antes de volver al poder

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

wilderness

[ˈwɪldə^rnəs] n

(= wild region) → régions fpl sauvages
area of wilderness, wilderness area → espace m naturel
one of the largest areas of wilderness in North America → l'un des plus vastes espaces naturels d'Amérique du Nord

in the wilderness (= not prominent, not active) → en pleine traversée du désert

wilderness

n → Wildnis f; (fig) → Wüste f; a voice crying in the wilderness → die Stimme eines Rufenden in der Wüste

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

wilderness

[ˈwɪldənɪs] n (gen) → deserto; (neglected garden) → giungla

wilderness

(ˈwildənəs) noun

(a) desert or wild area of a country etc.

References in classic literature ?

Among the passengers was John Winthrop, who had sold the estate of his forefathers, and was going to prepare a new home for his wife and children in the wilderness. He had the king's charter in his keeping, and was appointed the first governor of Massachusetts.

In the cabin, likewise, sat the Lady Arbella in her chair, with a gentle and sweet expression on her face, but looking too pale and feeble to endure the hardships of the wilderness.

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In the mean time, the alarm spread through the neighbourhood; the armed men collected immediately, and pursued the ravagers into the wilderness. Thus Providence, by the means of this Negro, saved the whole of the poor family from destruction.

Notwithstanding the unfortunate circumstances of our company, and our dangerous situation, as surrounded with hostile savages, our meeting so fortunately in the wilderness made us reciprocally sensible of the utmost satisfaction.

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All these heaviest things the load-bearing spirit taketh upon itself: and like the camel, which, when laden, hasteneth into the wilderness, so hasteneth the spirit into its wilderness.

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Fort Osage, and other places on the borders of the western wilderness, abound with characters of the kind, ready for any expedition.

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There is many and many a long mile of howling wilderness before us yet; nor would it avail me anything if the smoke of my own chimney were but on the other side of that swell of land.

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Although the settlement of this part of Otsego a little preceded the birth of the author, it was not sufficiently advanced to render it desirable that an event so important to himself should take place in the wilderness. Perhaps his mother had a reasonable distrust of the practice of Dr Todd, who must then have been in the novitiate of his experimental acquirements.

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"And for what cause," he asked, "have you left the city to dwell alone here in the wilderness?" She made answer, "Because in former times, falsehood was with few, but is now with all men."

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I was at an age when imagination lends its coloring to everything, and the stories of these Sinbads of the wilderness made the life of a trapper and fur trader perfect romance to me.

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"Now you are going to say something about law being the worst wilderness of the two, but I forestall you; remember, I have forestalled you."

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A token of the perils of the wilderness was seen in the grim head of a wolf, which had just been slain within the precincts of the town, and according to the regular mode of claiming the bounty, was nailed on the porch of the meeting-house.