wantonadj.n.
/ˈwɒnt(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈwɑntən/, /ˈwɔntən/ A. adj.† 6.
1. † c. Of an action: lawless, violent; (also) rude, ill-mannered. Also: (of words) uncontrolled, rude. Obsolete. Cf. A. 2b.
a. Of a person, a person's will, etc.: undisciplined, ungoverned; unmanageable, rebellious. Of a child (esp. in later use): disobedient, unruly; naughty. Now archaic and rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > unruliness > [adjective]
wildc1000
unthewedc1175
wanton?a1300
rabbisha1387
irregular1395
inordinate1398
unruly1400
misgoverned?a1425
misruled?a1425
misruly?a1425
unruleful1439
seditious1447
rulelessc1460
turbulous1527
undaunted1533
turbulent1538
unordinate1561
rowsey1565
misorderlya1568
disruly1570
rabbling1575
disorderous1579
irregulate1579
disorderly1585
break-dance1587
willyart?1590
unguided1600
inorderly1606
anarchial1609
irregulousa1616
unmasterlya1623
uncomposed1631
obstreperous1641
disriegled1657
ranting1658
rantipole1660
reuling1691
shandy1691
rumblegarie1722
randy1723
obstropolous1727
wanruly1773
polrumptious1787
ree-raw1800
rambunctious1830
roid1874
unordered1929
rogue1948
?a1300 (c1250) Prov. Hendyng (Digby) xlv, in Anglia (1881) 4 199 (MED) Wilde and wantoun is hertes wone.
c1330 Simonie (Auch.) (1991) l. 112 Þise wantoune prestes... Hii gon wid swerd and bokeler as men þat wolde fihte.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. x. l. 57 For whonne Blod is Bremore þen Brayn þen is Inwit I-bounde, And eke wantoun and wylde withouten eny Resoun.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11953 Yur sun þat wantun [Trin. Cambr. wantoun], and þat wild, Wit his banning has slan vr child.
a1450 ( in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 54 The fadir, þe wanton child wole kenne, Chastyse wiþ ȝerde, and bete hit sore.
c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) l. 1230 ‘A,’ seyde Reason, ‘then I know well that felawe. Wylde he ys & wanton, of me stant hym noon awe.’
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cxxvii. f. lxiiiv Dagobert..associate vnto hym certeyn wanton persones, & bete his Mayster.
1536 W. Tyndale Wks. (1573) 166 We say of a wanton child..he must be annoynted with byrchin salve.
1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus (i. 7) 127 Thus he shal make such wanton who should rather be kept vnder, by speaking peace to whom it belongeth not.
1685 J. Flavel Treat. Soul of Man 162 The Soul should look upon the Body as a wise Parent upon a rebellious or wanton child.
1713 W. Diaper Dryades 29 Wanton Children..cry, and murmur, if they are not fed.
1778 J. R. Forster Observ. Voy. round World I. vi. 418 They..are not even permitted to punish their wanton and unruly boys, who often throw stones at their mothers or beat them with impunity.
1843 Eclectic Rev. Dec. 708 A rebellious and wanton offspring.
1906 Central Law Jrnl. 62 224/1 Institutions established for the purpose of correcting, training and educating such weak and wanton children.
2007 Irish Times (Nexis) 26 July 14 He tried to get his wanton brat to sleep (so he could watch footie on TV).
b. Of an animal: skittish, refractory. Of a hawk, etc.: unmanageable.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > bird of prey > [adjective] > unmanageable
wantona1425
a1425 Milicia Christi in Jrnl. Warburg & Courtauld Inst. (1982) 45 App. iv. 48 (MED) A hors is an unresonble best..ȝif he be wylde and wantoune, it is nedeful þat he have a scharpe and a hevy bridel.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Hosea iv. 16 For Israel is gone backe, like a wanton cowe.
c1575 Perfect Bk. Kepinge Sparhawkes (1886) 26 Sugarcandy and butter will make her lustye, moyste, and proude, and being ofte used will make her wanton and to sore away.
1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. S7v As thou look'st, the wanton Steere, The Heifer, Cow, and Oxe draw neere.
a1763 W. Shenstone Wks. Verse & Prose (1764) I. 334 So doth it [sc. a scarecrow] wanton birds of peace bereave..; They start, they stare, they wheel, they look aghast.
1768 H. Brooke Fool of Quality III. xvi. 228 The cow kicked up her heels and proved wanton and refractory.
1806 Monthly Rev. Dec. 424 Thy wanton hawk each fearful bird pursued.
1823 G. Darley in London Mag. July 10 Call back this wanton falcon. Amaryllo! What ho! lord Amaryllo!
1860 R. W. Procter Literary Reminisc. & Gleanings i. 61 A pinfold is a place where wanton animals are lodged.
1952 R. Hackforth tr. Plato Phaedrus xv. 104 The driver..jerks back the bit in the mouth of the wanton horse with an even stronger pull.
2000 J. D. Quinn & W. C. Wacker First & Second Lett. to Timothy 110 Euripides speaks of bulls as..violently aggressive, wanton, and unruly.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [adjective]
lawlessc1394
wantona1425
contemptuous1517
licentious1535
rightless1572
exlegal1602
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > [adjective] > ill-mannered > specifically of conduct, speech, etc.
wantona1425
unmannerlyc1450
misnurtured1553
misnurture1597
under-terrestrial1603
unmannered1622
a1425 (a1396) R. Maidstone Paraphr. Seven Penitential Psalms (BL Add. 39574) l. 205 in M. Day Wheatley MS (1921) 28 (MED) For wanton worde and ydel othe And many a werk of wyckednesse, I drede thy dome.
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 308 By þe keping of þis circumstaunce is excludid fro þy service al wantowne fersenes in speking.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 12 Sum couettis..to lestyn..of wirschip I-wis slike as þam wyse lattis, And sum of wanton werkis þa þat ere wild-hedid.
c1450 J. Lydgate Stans Puer (Lamb. 853) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 27 And take good hede bi wisdom & resoun Þat bi no wantowne lauȝinge þou do noon offence.
d. spec. Of a boy (after Shakespeare's use): childishly cruel and unruly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > savagery > [adjective] > childish
wanton1608
society > authority > lack of subjection > unruliness > [adjective] > of children > of boys with implication of cruelty
wanton1608
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > cruelty > [adjective] > childishly
wanton1608
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xv. 35 As flies are toth' wanton boyes, are we toth' Gods, They bitt vs for their sport.
1692 E. Walker tr. Epictetus Enchiridion xxxiv Else you'll desist, and jade like wanton Boys.
1823 W. Scott Peveril IV. viii. 181 You make me feel like the poor bird, around whose wing some wanton boy has fixed a line, to pull the struggling wretch to earth at his pleasure.
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table i. 13 People that make puns are like wanton boys that put coppers on the railroad tracks.
1912 Southern Planter Jan. 314/2 Cruel men and wanton boys sometimes shoot for sport man's feathered allies.
1997 H. Berger Making Trifles of Terrors vi. 116 They [sc. the witches in Macbeth] fall to it with the enthusiasm of wanton boys killing flies.
2. † c. Of a natural occurrence: abnormal, extraordinary. Obsolete. rare.
a. Of a person or animal: insolent in triumph or prosperity; having no regard for justice, propriety, or the feelings or rights of others; reckless; merciless. Now chiefly with nouns that imply such behaviour, as murderer, tyrant, etc.In sense 1663: having no regard to decorum.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > arrogance > [adjective]
wlonkOE
moodyOE
rankOE
surquidous1377
insolentc1386
wantona1393
arrogantc1405
angardc1425
surquidrousc1430
stately1448
imperiala1456
superbious1509
succudrous1513
surquidant1528
ruffling1543
controlling1564
lustya1568
cocking1568
superbous1581
bog1592
swaggering1596
superarrogant1598
arrogating1601
pyrgopolinizing1605
high-handed1606
outbearing1607
high-horsed1613
dictatory1639
bardish1641
self-assuming1647
superbient1647
huffy1680
dictatorial1692
huffish1755
cobby1785
high-riding1831
braggadocious1853
snouty1858
you-be-damned1887
the mind > emotion > compassion > pitilessness > [adjective] > merciless
orelesseOE
sternc1275
fell?c1335
unmerciablea1382
wantona1393
mercilessc1400
unmercifula1425
gracelessc1425
unmercifula1450
unmerciless1545
unsparinga1586
spareless1589
unhuman1611
inclement1621
unmercied1627
a1393 [see wantonly adv. 1].
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Wolf & Wether l. 2495 in Poems (1981) 93 Than worth the wedder wantoun off his weid.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xi. xiv. 149 O, quod the maid, thou fals Liguriane, Our wantoun in thy proud mynd, all in vane [L. frustraque animis elate superbis].
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia iv. 129 They now began to shrinke, and giue vs leaue to be wanton with our aduantage.
1643 J. Burroughes Expos. Prophesie Hosea First Three Chapters 266 When men get abundance, they soon grow wanton.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 20 Some wanton persons, who..affect low leanings, to make use either to sit on, and break the glasse-windowes, or to shew themselves in Quirpo to passengers.
a1683 A. Sidney Disc. Govt. (1704) ii. xv. 114 When that proud City [sc. Rome] found no more resistance, it grew wanton.
1722 R. Steele Conscious Lovers iii. i You took no Delight, when you immediately grew wanton, in your Conquest.
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 19 When I behold..Each wanton judge new penal statutes draw.
1825 W. Hazlitt Spirit of Age 215 He grew wanton with success. Dazzling others by the brilliancy of his acquirements.., he lost fear as well as prudence.
1859 H. Tyrrell Hist. Russia Empire xxxvii. 298/1 He grew wanton in the exercise of his power.
1895 S. Baring-Gould Kitty Alone li. 339 There are always some wanton rascals to do mischief above and beyond what is the main loss.
1912 Harvard Stud. Classical Philol. 23 92 Creon in the Antigone is no wanton tyrant; his acts are passionately impulsive and short-sighted, but nevertheless based on principles that seem to him righteous.
1980 E. Jong Fanny ii. iv. 197 I felt myself to be..more evil than a Wanton Robber that sets upon the Poor and Old.
2009 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 26 Mar. 15 To defame a nation by falsely presenting its soldiers as wanton murderers.
b. Of an act (esp. of cruelty, injury, etc.), behaviour, attitude, etc.: showing no regard for justice, propriety, or the feelings or rights of others; reckless; unprovoked, arbitrary, gratuitous.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > [adjective] > having no motive
wantona1586
motiveless1798
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > [adjective] > of cruelty, insult, or neglect
wantona1586
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > [adjective] > careless or heedless > in evil-doing
wantona1586
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. ix. sig. T3 A Tyrant also, not thorow..vnreuengefulnes,..but..of a wanton crueltie.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan iv. xliv. 342 Which is not arguing from Scripture, but a wanton insulting over Princes.
1667 R. Allestree Causes Decay Christian Piety xviii. 406 Many Contributers there are to her ruine, every one whereof with a wanton cruelty (like Caesar's murderers) are ambitious to inflict new wounds.
1729 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. (ed. 2) ii. 44 Prophane Swearing..implies wanton Disregard and Irreverence towards an Infinite Being.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 75. ⁋12 Some of them revenged the neglect..by wanton and superfluous insults.
1769 E. Burke Observ. Late State Nation 68 The wanton and indiscriminate seizure of papers.
1833 Gentleman's Mag. July 76/2 Mr. Stallwood..deposed to the violent and wanton conduct of the Police.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge lxxxi. 412 You see the destruction that has been wanton here.
1891 S. J. Weyman Story Francis Cludde ix. 98 If you insult and offend this young man—which you are doing out of pure wanton mischief, for you are not in love with the girl.
1908 Coast July 44/1 He should..not be let loose to again menace society by his dastardly and wanton actions.
1926 T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars (subscribers' ed.) i. 5 What now looks wanton or sadic seemed in the field inevitable.
1960 C. B. Watson Shakespeare & Renaissance Concept Honor x. 382 Hal..has provoked his father's displeasure by his own wanton conduct.
1987 J. Hersey Blues 80 It..was just as bad as a wanton act of terrorism or a racist atrocity.
2007 N.Y. Times 16 Sept. (Washington Final ed.) iv. 12/1 The wanton murders of three young people last month may have galvanized a besieged city.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective]
enorm?1518
enormousa1533
enormious1604
exorbitant1607
erratical1646
wanton1743
anormal1812
abnormal1817
freak-storm1898
1743 H. Fielding Ess. Conversat. in Misc. I. 122 These Men..are no less Monsters than the most wanton Abortions, or extravagant Births.
3.
a. Lustful; not chaste, sexually promiscuous.
(a) Of a person (esp. a woman).
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective]
golec888
canga1225
light?c1225
wooinga1382
nicea1387
riota1400
wantonc1400
wrenec1400
lachesc1450
loose?a1500
licentious1555
libertine1560
prostitute1569
riggish1569
wide1574
slipper1581
slippery1586
sportive1595
gay1597
Cyprian1598
suburb1598
waggish1600
smicker1606
suburbian1606
loose-living1607
wantona1627
free-living1632
libertinous1632
loose-lived1641
Corinthian1642
akolastic1656
slight1685
fast1699
freea1731
brisk1740
shy1787
slang1818
randomc1825
fastish1832
loosish1846
slummya1860
velocious1872
fly1880
slack1951
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. viii. l. 300 ‘Ich haue ywedded a wyf,’ quaþ he, ‘wel wantowen [a1425 London Univ. wantoun, a1400 Corpus Cambr. wanton] of maners.’
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. iv. l. 143 Þat alle wommen wantowen shulleþ be war by þe one, And biterliche banne þe.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) vi. l. 464 A woman occupyde þat stede Twa ȝhere ful as pape..Scho was to wanton of hire fayr.
?1518 A. Barclay Fyfte Eglog sig. C Her name was wanton besse Who leest with her delt, he thryued not the lesse.
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. C.iij And many whyte nonnes with whyte vayles That was full wanton of theyr tayles.
1569 T. Underdowne tr. Ovid Inuectiue against Ibis D vj Tyresias..gaue sentence of Iupiters syde, and concluded that women were the wantoner. Wherefore Iuno moued to anger put out hys eyes.
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. i. sig. A2 My soule, Did liue imprisond in my wanton flesh.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iii. i. 19 Thou art a most pernitious Vsurer,..Lasciuious, wanton, more then well beseemes A man of thy Profession, and Degree. View more context for this quotation
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Yorks. 190 Henry [I]..was very wanton, as appeareth by his numerous natural issue.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull in his Senses i. 8 As for his personal Reflexions, I would gladly know who are those Wanton Wives he speaks of?
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. i. 16 A daughter..turns out unruly, foolish, wanton.
1837 C. G. F. Gore Mem. Peeress II. xi. 199 ‘A wanton woman who deceives her husband,’ he resumed, ‘thinks she has done all—and hugs herself in her triumph. Rarely does she deceive the world.’
1870 Chamber's Jrnl. 17 Sept. 601/2 Obey me now, you wicked wanton slut, or I proclaim your shame before them all; one minute will decide your fate!
1935 Bks. Abroad 9 209/1 A wanton girl who does not repulse the advances of the Regent or Dictator.
1986 S. Penman Here be Dragons (1991) (U.K. ed.) ii. xii. 725 The aging husband with a wanton young wife was a stock figure of fun.
2003 Observer 19 Oct. (Review section) 14/4 We are accustomed to wanton, flashy film stars—types who are, as my grandmother would have put it, all lace and no knickers.
(b) figurative. Of a thing.
ΚΠ
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 129 When we haue laught to see the sailes conceaue, And grow bigge bellied, with the wanton winde.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. vii. 103 Yon towers, whose wanton tops do busse the clouds, Must kisse their owne feete. View more context for this quotation
1679 C. Cotton Confinement 55 Curst be those Mountains, wanton with the Sun, From whose first hot embraces, Tagus run.
1799 Edinbugh Mag. May 323 The Rose..Expands its bosom to the wanton air.
1839 H. W. Longfellow Hyperion i. vi How the wanton, treacherous air coquets with the old greybeard trees.
1887 W. S. Gilbert Ruddygore i. 18 The wanton roses, Who, uprising from their beds, Hold on high their shameless heads With their pretty lips a-pouting.
1931 H. H. Gowen Hist. Indian Lit. from Vedic Times to Present day iv. 57 The gleaming goddess whom the wanton sun pursues as ‘a young man a maiden’.
2012 A. M. Zannis Categorically Speaking 105 A carnal beauty is this centerfold Of flesh more lustful than a wanton rose.
b. Of dispositions, thoughts, language, action, or appearance, etc.: characterized by or inciting lasciviousness; lustful.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective] > specifically of conduct, etc.
wantonc1405
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 602 And after that he song ful loude and clere And kiste his wyf, and made wantown cheere.
a1475 Revelations St. Birgitta (Garrett) (1929) 22 (MED) He muste also tylle with hys erres, that he here no vanton thynges.
a1500 Foly of Fulys & Thewis of Wysmen 366 in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 62 At wantone plays thai spend þar gud, And mansueris goddis flesch and blud.
c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) l. 378 But aboue all other she [sc. Venus] had a wanton ey.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 164v Oft in wanton werkes wex þai with childe.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 760 She thought him secretly familier with the king in wanton company.
1577 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture (new ed.) sig. A.iiv But especyally keepe them from reading of fayned fables, vayne fantasyes, and wanton stories.
1651 C. Cartwright Certamen Religiosum i. 175 But consider this Commandment in the full extent of it, as forbidding all wanton lookes.
a1672 A. Wood Life (1891) I. 366 A wanton (in plaine terms, a baudy) expression.
1782 S. Johnson Let. 12 June (1994) IV. 52 I should have cared little about a wanton expression.
1793 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 437 By the continuation of wanton attitudes, they acquire..a frantic lasciviousness.
1843 E. Bulwer-Lytton Last of Barons I. i. ii. 31 Dancing round him, with wanton looks and bare arms.
1846 J. Keble Lyra Innocentium 201 Those evil powers..rude gaze and wanton word.
a1870 A. L. Gordon Poems (1905) 198 The brown thrush sang through the briar and bower, All flush'd or frosted with forest flower In the warm sun's wanton glances.
1898 Pall Mall Gaz. 5 Sept. 3/2 It is nothing short of a tragedy to see a man..dragged down from a high position by the wanton conduct of the girl he has befriended and married.
1948 S. J. Perelman Westward Ha! viii. 112 She was still as coquettish and full of wanton wiles as a sub-deb.
1992 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 13 Dec. 13/2 Couples in every wanton position and stage of undress.
c. Of a writer: that writes about love or sexual desire; whose work is thought to or intended to incite lust and lasciviousness; lewd; suggestive. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective]
golec888
canga1225
light?c1225
wooinga1382
nicea1387
riota1400
wantonc1400
wrenec1400
lachesc1450
loose?a1500
licentious1555
libertine1560
prostitute1569
riggish1569
wide1574
slipper1581
slippery1586
sportive1595
gay1597
Cyprian1598
suburb1598
waggish1600
smicker1606
suburbian1606
loose-living1607
wantona1627
free-living1632
libertinous1632
loose-lived1641
Corinthian1642
akolastic1656
slight1685
fast1699
freea1731
brisk1740
shy1787
slang1818
randomc1825
fastish1832
loosish1846
slummya1860
velocious1872
fly1880
slack1951
a1627 J. Beaumont Bosworth-field (1629) 93 Wanton writers ioyne in one desire, To blow the Coales of Loue, and make them burn.
1656 E. Leigh Treat. Relig. & Learning Index 377 Peter Aretine, called Divine Aretine, yet a wanton writer.
1710 S. Palmer Moral Ess. Prov. Pref. p. xiv An uncautious wanton writer can possibly give the vice he has too lusciously describ'd.
1781 J. Pinkerton Rimes 143 By the blyth Graces led and Loves, Behold the wanton Poet stray. How potent to awake Desire!
1820 W. Hazlitt Lect. Dramatic Lit. 144 They are always abusing ‘wanton poets’.
1877 Manch. Weekly Times 23 June Suppl. 198/1 Some wanton writers have declared them to be destitute of any intrinsic excellence.
1904 S. Dill Rom. Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius ii. i. 143 The most wanton writer of the evil days shrinks from justifying adultery.
1964 H. Keniston in Memorias de Sancho Cota Introd. 25 Was he, perhaps, thinking of Ovid's fame as a wanton writer and protecting himself from a similar charge?
4. † a. Of a person: playful; unrestrained in merriment, jovial; inclined to joking; carefree. Also of behaviour. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [adjective] > humorous or jesting > that jests or jokes > inclined to jest or joke
wantonc1405
facetious1601
jocular1625
jocose1673
ludicrous1687
jokish1785
joky1825
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 208 A frere ther was, a wantowne and a merye A lymytour, a ful solempne man.
c1475 Mankind (1969) 181 (MED) Þei be wanton now, but þen [sc. at Judgement] xall þei be sade.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xxvii. 7 Wantone in weill but wo, Glaid withowt grief also.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xv. 3 Art thow nocht wantoun, haill, and in gud howp... Bathing in bliss, and sett in hie curaige?
1708 J. Ozell tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin iii. 120 A heedless Troop of wanton Boys..In idle Pastime truanting the Day.
1758 J. G. Cooper Call Aristippus iv. 15 Whilst wanton boys..coif me, where I'm bald, with flow'rs.
1815 W. Burney Falconer's Dict. Marine 484 Skylarking, a term used by seamen, to denote wanton play about the rigging, and tops, or in any part of the ship, particularly by the youngsters.
1876 L. D. Schmitz tr. H. Ulrici Shakespeare's Dramatic Art II. v. iii. 71 A merry wanton child which..skips along lightly amid the dance of its companions.
b. Of an animal, esp. a young one: frisky, frolicsome.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by nature > [adjective] > lively
proudc1300
heartya1375
wanton1532
sprightly1600
earnest1609
spirited1624
1532 Remedy of Love in Wks. G. Chaucer f. ccclxviiv/1 As a wanton lambe ful ignorante Howe he is puled and drawen to be bounde.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Lasciuus Wantoner then a yonge kidde.
?1606 M. Drayton Eglog vi, in Poemes sig. E8v The early wanton lambs, That mongst the hillocks wont to skip and play.
1694 J. Addison Hor. Ode in Poems iii. iii. 74 Let the wanton flocks unguarded stray.
1732 J. Gay Achilles i. ii. 12 Observe the wanton Kitten's Play, Whene'er a Mouse appears.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 29 Who for thy Table feeds the wanton Fawn.
1804 W. Tarras Poems 127 An' whare the wanton lammies mae, An' hillock scours.
1851 Early Days 6 338 Young lambs were dancing, and wanton foals were skipping about.
1878 Lippincott's Mag. Apr. 442/2 Young whelps, which..remind one..of wanton kittens.
1897 E. B. Cowell & F. W. Thomas tr. Bāṇa Harṣa-Carita 36 With the wanton calves sporting about, caressed by the young cowherds.
1905 Irish Monthly 33 161 The wanton puppy which can make itself quite happy for a quarter of an hour at a stretch by nibbling the covers and the leaves of a book.
2003 M. Hooper At Sign of Sugared Plum ii. 19 They'd driven him distracted..by trotting off in all directions like wanton puppies.
c. Chiefly poetic. Of an object: moving as if alive; free, unrestrained, playful, sportive. Cf. sense A. 1b.In quot. 1667 perhaps with overtones of sense A. 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [adjective] > specifically of objects viewed as endowed with life
wanton1579
lawless1738
1579 H. Heron Kayes of Counsaile i. 4 Some are dayly pampred with delicate meates, and drowned in the wanton Seas of worldly pleasure.
1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late ii. sig. L2 The blythe and wanton windes are whist & still.
1601 J. Weever Mirror of Martyrs sig. Eijv Tide for the ship, and ship was for the tide..For Neptune men, and Neptune them to guide, Thames wanton currant stealing on behind.
1653 T. White Contempl. of Heaven iii. 28 There is a General mustering his flourishing Troops, his Drums beating, his wanton Colours dancing in the Ayre.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 517 So varied hee, and of his tortuous Traine Curld many a wanton wreath in sight of Eve. View more context for this quotation
1742 W. Collins Persian Eclogues i. 6 When wanton Gales, along the Valleys play.
1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epode xv, in tr. Horace Odes II. 329 While Phœbus' locks float wanton in the Wind.
1772 W. Jones Poems 39 A wanton bark was floating o'er the main.
1806 Port Folio 3 May 272/1 Ah! not long his wanton sails Swell their breasts to temp'rate gales.
1871 Boston Daily Advertiser 11 May The sunshine riots outside, And the winds are merry and wanton With the summer's pomp and pride.
2008 Canad. Business (Nexis) 17 Mar. 61 One might doubt the wisdom of deploying some huge paddlewheel into the sky, only to have it knocked about by the wanton breeze.
d. Of colour or music: cheerful, lively; exuberant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > state or mode of having colour > [adjective] > brightly coloured
brightOE
gay?c1225
paintedc1400
sheenc1400
staringc1400
freshc1405
wanton1583
splendid1634
amelled1651
vivid1686
strong1711
bloom-bright1832
flamboyant1851
technicolored1927
dazzle1931
Technicolora1940
fauve1967
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > [adjective] > qualities of music generally
wanton1583
martial1609
hesychastic1694
systaltic1694
figureless1887
ethnic1912
novelty1915
treacly1930
Afro1938
soft-focused1942
Afro-Caribbean1947
pop1956
toppy1956
shit-kicking1961
spacy1967
prog1976
loungy1977
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Mii Then euerie one of these his men, he [sc. the Lord of Misrule] inuesteth with his liueries, of green, yellow or some other light wanton colour.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 150 Though he were a priest he would rather choose to excell in that wanton and pleasing musick then in that which [etc.].
a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) iv. ii. 66 He's white hair'd, Not wanton white, but such a manly colour. View more context for this quotation
1707 J. Addison Rosamond iii. i. 29 Adieu, ye wanton Shades and Bowers, Wreathes of Myrtle, Beds of Flowers.
1743 W. Collins Verses to T. Hanmer 6 Their wanton Lyres the Bards of Provence strung.
1824 Mementoes, Hist. & Classical II. xli. 378 We..gazed with calm pleasure upon the purply tints and wanton colours cast..upon the mountains.
1885 J. Hendry in Ballads & Poems (Glasgow Ballad Club) 4 For this city's mirth is a madman's glee, And its wanton music a dirge to thee.
1915 P. J. Brebner Turbulent Duchess iii. 32 Blazing in a wanton riot of colour.
1982 ‘J. Kincaid’ in New Yorker 3 May 49 I have walked and gazed and gazed at the small cuplike flowers, in wanton hues of red and gold and blue.
5. † c. Fastidious or dainty in appetite. Also of the appetite itself. Obsolete.
a. Of money or wealth: that tempts to extravagance or luxury; abundant; excessive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > wealth > wealth or riches > [adjective] > tempting to extravagance or luxury
wantona1450
society > trade and finance > money > funds or pecuniary resources > [adjective] > tempting to extravagance
wantona1450
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 687 (MED) O wher is now al þe wantoun moneye That I was maister of..Whan I knewe nat what pouert was to sey?
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes (1531) 76 b And hauyng a lytell wanton money, which hym thought brenned out the botom of his purs..he toke his wyfe..to see Flaunders and Fraunce, [etc.].
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 783 The hope of gaye apparell, ease, pleasure, and other wanton welth was able soon to pierce a soft tender hart.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary ann. 1620 (1955) II. 4 One of the most tempting and pleasant seates in the Nation [for a great person & a wanton purse to render it Conspicuous].
1685 E. Waller Divine Poems 35 Not ill-perswading want, nor wanton Wealth, But what proportion'd is to Life and Health.
1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 260 The midnight masquerade, With all the freaks of wanton wealth arrayed.
1789 C. Smith Ethelinde V. v. 109 All the real or artificial pleasures which wanton wealth has to bestow.
1812 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Cantos I & II i. xxii. 19 When wanton Wealth her mightiest deeds hath done, Meek Peace voluptuous lures was ever wont to shun.
1856 G. Massey Craigcrook Castle 202 But not a crumb of all the glad life-feast, Nor drop of all the wanton wealth for me.
1911 J. J. Coughlin Osirus 31 His heart for wanton riches never bleeds.
1974 H. Blamires Short Hist. Eng. Lit. xiii. 224 There is fervent moral indignation in the contrast between the lost simplicities of village life and the sickening pleasures of wanton wealth.
2010 R. A. Brown Tree ii. 14 He felt that the accident of his wanton wealth was a large mistake.
b. Of clothing, diet, etc.: excessively rich, luxurious; extravagant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > diet > [adjective] > luxurious
wanton1489
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > other
smalleOE
lightc1230
round1402
side-necked1430
wanton1489
Spanish1530
tucked1530
lustya1555
civil1582
open-breasted1598
full1601
everlasting1607
sheeten1611
nothinga1616
burly1651
pin-up1677
slouching1691
double-breasted1701
negligée1718
translated1727
uniform1746
undress1777
single-breasted1796
unworn1798
mamalone1799
costumic1801
safeguard1822
Tom and Jerry1830
lightweight1837
fancy dress1844
wrap-1845
hen-skin1846
Mary Stuart1846
well-cut1849
mousquetaire1851
empire1852
costumary1853
solid1859
spring weight1869
Henri II1870
western1881
hard-boiled1882
man-of-war1883
Henley1886
demi-season1890
Gretchen1890
toreador1892
crossover1893
French cut1896
drifty1897
boxy1898
Buster Brown1902
Romney1903
modistic1907
Peter Pan1908
classic1909
Fauntleroy1911
baby doll1912
flared1928
flare1929
tuck-in1929
unpressed1932
Edwardian1934
swingy1937
topless1937
wraparound1937
dressed-down1939
cover-up1942
Sun Yat-sen1942
utility1942
non-utility1948
sudsable1951
off-the-shoulder1953
peasant1953
flareless1954
A-line1955
matador1955
stretch1956
wash-and-wear1959
layered1962
Tom Jones1964
Carnaby Street1965
Action Man1966
Mao-style1967
wear-dated1968
thermal1970
bondage1980
swaggery1980
hoochie1990
mitumba1990
kinderwhore1994
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes i. ix. sig. Biijv The auncient noble men..made not theyre children to be norisshed in the kyngis & prynces courtes for to lerne pryde, lechery nor to were wanton clothing.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward V f. iijv Whith ouer liberall and wanton diet, he waxed somewhat corpulent and bourly.
1562 W. Turner Bk. Natures Bathes Eng. f. 6, in 2nd Pt. Herball It commeth by evell and wanton diet.
a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 160 The Poet having said, that it is no true life to abound in wanton diet, and costly ointments.
1740 D. H. Father's Advices to his Children 8 Avoid all wanton Diet and Excess.
1786 R. Cumberland in European Mag. July 56/2 Soft was his lyre and sweet his strains, Frequenter of the wanton feast.
1847 Friends' Rev. 13. Nov. 128/1 Do any love the wanton feast?
1866 A. S. Stephens Soldier's Orphans ii. 42 Yet, with all this wanton finery fluttering around her, the woman really thought herself a most charitable person.
1907 F. C. Philips & P. Fendall Husband & Wife ii. in F. C. Philips Barrister's Courtship 166 I would rather starve than share their wanton banquet.
1923 W. L. Dawson Birds Calif. III. 1371 Yet as that wanton meat floated on the tide, the pampered birds only leered foolishly at it.
1968 G. Daws Shoal of Time vi. 215 To see so much money committed to a wanton frippery like the palace upset the planters and businessmen greatly.
1989 R. Tremain Restoration i. x. 137 Were I in a condition of wretchedness, I would not seek out the Overseers in their wigs and wanton finery.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > [adjective] > having (good) appetite > having dainty appetite or palate
wanton1530
lickerish-lipped1577
lickerous-toothed1579
nice-stomached1604
tender-mouthed1620
nice-palated1683
toothsome1837
pensy1866
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 328/2 Wanton of condycions..friant; friande.
1693 J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. §14 If he be hungry more than wanton, bread alone will down.
1727 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Postscr. in J. Swift et al. Misc. II. 210 How John pamper'd Esquire South with Tit-bits, till he grew wanton.
1754 S. Fielding Cry I. i. vii. 128 A body pampered and glutted with poignant sauces, by which the palate loses all taste of wholesome food, and grows so luxuriously wanton, that at last all kind of relish is entirely lost.
1806 E. Bates Christian Politics i. v. 92 As riches accumulate, men are generally disposed to allow a larger scope to a wanton and capricious appetite.
d. Self-indulgent, effete; soft, shrinking from hardship. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > unruliness > [adjective] > of children
wanton1533
shrewd1548
naughtya1633
bratty1961
1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani x. sig. F.viii What can be more a wanton thyng than to desyre to reygne with ye hed, & yet wilt thou take no payne with hym.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Sibariticus, wanton or delycate.
1601 I. R. World or Kingdom & Commonw. 169 The inhabitants [of China] partly by their effeminate and wanton kinde of life, partly by their forme of gouernment,..haue little valour or manhood left them.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (1623) iv. i. 55 Wee are all diseas'd, And with our surfetting, and wanton howres, Haue brought our selues into a burning Feuer.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 438. ⁋4 Your Temper is Wanton, and incapable of the least Pain.
1746 P. Francis tr. Horace in P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epistles ii. i. 128 When Greece beheld her Wars in Triumph cease, She soon grew wanton in the Arms of Peace.
1835 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece I. ii. 59 Hence the name and the legend of Piasus, who reigned over the Pelasgians in the valley of the Hermus, and grew wanton from the exuberant increase of the land.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xi. 192 The baron..grew fat and wanton, and a sorry brute.
1890 W. J. Simmonite & J. Story Compl. Arcana Astral Philos. iv. 50 A wanton and effeminate disposition, delighting in women's company.
1994 J. Birmingham He died with Felafel in his Hand (1997) x. 208 Disintegration, entropy, the long mid-afternoon of wanton unemployment. Wallowing in cider and children's television.
e. Unrestrained or lavish to an irresponsible degree; wasteful, profligate.
ΚΠ
1574 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. 316 Hee caused to be broughte to satisfie his wanton excesse, poudred meates from Sardinia, and wines from Spaine.
1635 W. Saltonstall tr. G. Mercator Historia Mundi 181 They are not given to Controversies, Law-suits, private discord, envie, hatred, or to any wanton excesse either in diet or apparell.
1784 R. Twining Remarks Rep. E. India Directors 46 The Tea-dealers do not affect such wanton generosity. They have reduced their retail prices, as much as the reduction in the wholesale would warrant, and no more.
1828 I. D'Israeli Comm. Life Charles I II. i. 2 Charles the First has never been accused of a wanton profusion of the public wealth.
1933 Times of India 6 Jan. 15/1 I am also schooling myself to resist those tempting..bargains, which so often lead us into the most wanton extravagance.
1994 N.Y. Mag. 3 Jan. 32/3 There are less-expensive wines on the list, but in the interest of wanton excess, why not elevate dinner with that elegant pedigreed grape juice in signature goblets?
2007 Daily Tel. (Australia) (Nexis) 12 Dec. (Finance section) 61 The saving culture went out of vogue about the same time as Christmas became a time of wanton extravagance.
a. Capricious, frivolous, giddy; pleasure-seeking. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] > capricious or whimsical
startfulmood?a1300
wildc1350
volage?a1366
gerfulc1374
geryc1386
wild-headeda1400
skittishc1412
gerish1430
shittle1440
shittle-witted1448
runningc1449
volageous1487
glaikit1488
fantasious1490
giggish1523
tickle or light of the sear?1530
fantastical1531
wayward1531
wantona1538
peevish1539
light-headed1549
humoral1573
unstaid1579
shittle-headed1580
toy-headed1581
fangled1587
humorous1589
choiceful1591
toyish1598
tricksy1598
skip-brain1603
capricious1605
humoursome1607
planetary1607
vertiginous1609
whimsieda1625
ingiddied1628
whimsy1637
toysome1638
cocklec1640
mercurial1647
garish1650
maggoty1650
kicksey-winseya1652
freakish1653
humourish1653
planetic1653
whimsical1653
shittle-braineda1655
freaking1663
maggoty-headed1667
maggot-pated1681
hoity-toity1690
maggotish1693
maggot-headeda1695
whimsy-headed1699
fantasque1701
crotchetly1702
quixotic1718
volatile1719
holloweda1734
conundrumical1743
flighty1768
fly-away1775
dizzy1780
whimmy1785
shy1787
whimming1787
quirky1789
notional1791
tricksome1815
vagarish1819
freakful1820
faddy1824
moodish1827
mawky1837
erratic1841
rockety1843
quirkish1848
maggoty-pated1850
crotchetya1854
freaksome1854
faddish1855
vagrom1882
fantasied1883
vagarisome1883
on-and-offish1888
tricksical1889
freaky1891
hobby-horsical1893
quirksome1896
temperamental1907
up and down1960
untogether1969
fanciful-
fantastic-
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 91 Ther were nothyng mete to kendyl..chrystyan hertys to devotyon..but rather to ster wanton myndys to vayn plesure.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xx. 40 Thy wantoun, folich mynd!
a1604 T. Churchyard in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign Elizabeth (1845) II. 404 The bedstocke and the tycke, And all belongs to bed, Is but vaine pleasures that we like To please a wanton head.
?1728 Merry Musician II. 140 With wanton flight ye curious Bee, From Flower to Flower still wanders free.
1832 World Fashion & Continental Feuilletons 1 Dec. 286/1 How wretched is that wanton mind, Which to each vain pursuit inclined, Is ever bent to roam!
1876 J. S. Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 227 Pert witlings fling crude fancies round As wanton whim conceits them.
b. Of a material substance: changeable, reactive. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective]
slidinga900
wankleeOE
windyc1000
unsteadfastc1200
fleeting?c1225
loose?c1225
brotelc1315
unstablec1340
varyingc1340
variantc1374
motleyc1380
ungroundedc1380
muablea1393
passiblea1393
remuablea1393
changeablea1398
movablea1398
variablec1397
slidderya1400
ticklec1400
variantc1412
flitting1413
mutable?a1425
movingc1425
flaskisable1430
flickering1430
transmutablec1430
vertible1447
brittlea1450
ficklea1450
permutablec1450
unfirmc1450
uncertain1477
turnable1483
unsteadfast1483
vagrantc1522
inconstant1526
alterable?1531
stirringc1540
slippery1548
various1552
slid?1553
mutala1561
rolling1561
weathery1563
unconstant1568
interchangeable1574
fluctuant1575
stayless1575
transitive1575
voluble1575
changeling1577
queasy1579
desultory1581
huff-puff1582
unstaid1586
vagrant1586
changeful1590
floating1594
Protean1594
unstayed1594
swimming1596
anchorless1597
mobilec1600
ticklish1601
catching1603
labile1603
unrooted1604
quicksilvered1605
versatile1605
insubstantial1607
uncertain1609
brandling1611
rootless1611
squeasy1611
wind-changinga1616
insolid1618
ambulatory1625
versatilous1629
plastic1633
desultorious1637
unbottomed1641
fluid1642
fluent1648
yea-and-nay1648
versipellous1650
flexile1651
uncentred1652
variating1653
chequered1656
slideable1662
transchangeative1662
weathercock-like1663
flicketing1674
fluxa1677
lapsable1678
wanton1681
veering1684
upon the weathercock1702
contingent1703
unsettled?1726
fermentable1731
afloat1757
brickle1768
wavy1795
vagarious1798
unsettled1803
fitful1810
metamorphosical1811
undulating1815
tittupya1817
titubant1817
mutative1818
papier mâché1818
teetotum1819
vacillating1822
capricious1823
sensitive1828
quicksilvery1829
unengrafted1829
fluxionala1834
proteiform1833
liquid1835
tottlish1835
kaleidoscopic1846
versative1846
kaleidoscopical1858
tottery1861
choppy1865
variative1874
variational1879
wimbly-wambly1881
fluctuable1882
shifty1882
giveable1884
shifty1884
tippy1886
mutatory1890
upsettable1890
rocky1897
undulatory1897
streaky1898
tottly1905
tipply1906
up and down1907
inertialess1927
sometimey1946
rise-and-fall1950
switchable1961
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis iii. §ii. i. 323 Gold hath the least variety of regular figure, in the Ore, of any Metal. Because, more solid, and therefore, less wanton, than the rest.
7.
a. Of a plant, etc.: profuse in growth, luxuriant. Also (of the growth of a plant): abundant, prolific; unchecked.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by good growth > [adjective] > flourishing or luxuriant in growth
greeneOE
frimOE
ranka1325
wlonk1398
flourishingc1400
rankish1495
frank?1548
gole1573
abled1576
wanton1579
proud1597
unseared1599
unwithered1599
ramping1607
lusha1616
fulsome1633
luxurious1644
rampant1648
luxuriant1661
lascivious1698
pert1727
unnipped1775
verdurous1820
happy1875
1579 E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Aug. 30 And over them spred a goodly wilde vine Entrailed with a wanton yvy twine.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. i. 209 She bids you on the wanton rushes lay you downe. View more context for this quotation
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 99 The queint Mazes, in the wanton greene, For lacke of tread, are vndistinguishable. View more context for this quotation
1653 H. Lawes Ayres & Dial. ii. 16 The wanton Suckling and the Vine.
1709 A. Pope Spring in Poet. Misc.: 6th Pt. 725 Where wanton Ivy twines.
1787 J. Thelwall Poems Var. Subj. I. 87 An antient forest..covered in the winter by the mantling fibres of the wanton ivy.
1815 W. Herbert Helga iii. 56 Wanton tendrils hung with bloom Twining around distil perfume.
1876 J. S. Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 217 Wanton weeds my garden cumbered.
1911 W. W. Collins Cathedral Cities Italy 297 Exotic plants flourish luxuriantly, and vie with all sorts of flowers in wanton growth.
1958 S. Ashton-Warner Spinster 171 An enclosure of wilful wanton weeds.
2009 Hobart Mercury (Austral.) (Nexis) 20 June (Weekend section) 4 One knows that in early spring there will be wanton growth, ubiquitous fresh green all over the place and flowers galore.
b. Of a person or a person's health: robust, vigorous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > [adjective] > of health: good > healthy
wholeeOE
isoundOE
i-sundfulc1000
ferec1175
soundc1175
fish-wholea1225
forthlyc1230
steadfasta1300
wella1300
safec1300
tidya1325
halec1330
quartc1330
well-faringc1330
well-tempered1340
well-disposeda1398
wealyc1400
furnished1473
mighty?a1475
quartful?c1475
good1527
wholesomea1533
crank1548
healthful1550
healthy1552
hearty1552
healthsome1563
well-affected?1563
disposed1575
as sound as a bell1576
firm1577
well-conditioned1580
sound1605
unvaletudinary1650
all right1652
valid1652
as sound as a (alsoany) roach1655
fair-like1663
hoddy1664
wanton1674
stout?1697
trig1704
well-hained1722
sprack1747
caller1754
sane1755
finely1763
bobbish1780
cleverly1784
right1787
smart1788
fine1791
eucratic1795
nobbling1825
as right as a trivet1835
first rate1841
in fine, good, high, etc., feather1844
gay1855
sprackish1882
game ball1905
abled1946
well-toned1952
a hundred per cent1960
oke1960
1674 R. Godfrey Var. Injuries in Physick 78 I have examined the Bloods of two hundred wanton Country healthy people.
1738 London Mag. Apr. 195 In wanton health we devious courses run, Forsake the path of life, and are undone.
1816 La Belle Assemblée Jan. 34/1 Others are swept away in wanton health, Whose brawny limbs, firm strung, and florid looks, Promis'd longevity.
1886 J. W. Graham Neæra ii. xvi. 287 To one of her physical robustness and wanton health, it required an enormous and continuous strain to make any material inroads on her outward appearance.
1980 D. M. Wilson in D. Kydd & J. Graham-Campbell Vikings Pref. 7 The wanton, healthy, cheerful, blond Viking has been a firmly established literary figure since the early nineteenth century.
1987 B. Duffy World as I found It i. 25 Karl Wittgenstein's face was a pink wall of wanton health.
8.
a. Of language (esp. praise), imagination, etc.: extravagant, unrestrained.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > exaggeration, hyperbole > [adjective] > extravagant, excessive
overdoinga1425
ramping1484
egregious1566
desperatea1568
outlandish1588
hyperbolical1589
furious1671
wanton1680
outré1722
steep1856
plush horse1936
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [adjective] > extreme or excessive
excessive1555
flaming1609
wanton1680
flaring1820
ultra1827
over-strong1897
1680 T. Otway Orphan i. 2 I have heard him wanton in his praise, Speak things of him might Charm the Ears of envy.
1713 J. Addison Cato i. iv How does your Tongue grow wanton in her Praise!
1759 D. Hume Hist. Eng. under House of Tudor II. Eliz. iv. 589 Sir Philip Sidney..is described..as the most perfect model of an accomplished gentleman which was ever formed even by the wanton imagination of poetry or fiction.
1852 Vermont Watchman & State Jrnl. 1 Jan. 1/3 It is no wanton praise—it is a fact what I say.
1905 H. James English Hours 98 This jagged and pinnacled coast-wall..prompted one to wanton reminiscence and outbreak.
1963 C. Ricks Milton's Grand Style iv. 125 Of course it is still necessary to curb one's wanton imagination.
1997 Belfast News Let. (Nexis) 18 Aug. 17 Too much to mention everything, but I shall indulge in the wanton praise of personal favourites.
b. Of movement (esp. of a horse or rider): headlong, impetuous.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > [adjective] > rapidly or suddenly
ranka1250
headya1425
impetuous1490
powdering1619
wanton1753
1753 W. Hogarth Anal. Beauty xvii. 223 A fine Arabian war-horse, unbacked, and at liberty, and in a wanton trot.
1844 J. H. D. Hay Western Barbary v. 55 Having given vent to the overflow of my spirits by a wanton gallop after a hare.
1887 M. E. Smith Love & Liking I. vii. 140 She..made the second in a wanton canter, the splendid animal beneath her bounding and curveting.
1977 D. Davenport tr. V. Kaleb in V. D. Mihailovich White Stones & Fir Trees 120 He was rushing with a wanton gallop straight for the fig tree.
2006 Irish Times (Nexis) 30 Jan. (Sport section) 5 The ‘secondrow union’ will shun him for his wanton gallop down the touchline.
B. n.† 3. A person (esp. a child) treated with overindulgence and excessive leniency; a spoilt or pampered person. Obsolete.† 4. In plural with the: wanton fits, lascivious desires, wantonness. Obsolete. rare.
1. † b. A playful or skittish animal or bird, etc. Obsolete.
a. A person, esp. a child, of playful or mischievous conduct. Frequently used as a term of endearment. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [noun]
darlingc888
belamy?c1225
culver?c1225
dearc1230
sweetheartc1290
heartc1300
sweetc1330
honeya1375
dovec1386
jewelc1400
birdc1405
cinnamonc1405
honeycombc1405
lovec1405
wantonc1450
mulling?a1475
daisyc1485
crowdy-mowdy?a1513
honeysop?a1513
powsowdie?a1513
suckler?a1513
foolc1525
buttinga1529
whitinga1529
beautiful1534
turtle-dove1535
soula1538
heartikin1540
bully?1548
turtle1548
lamba1556
nyletc1557
sweet-lovea1560
coz1563
ding-ding1564
pugs1566
golpol1568
sparling1570
lover1573
pug1580
bulkin1582
mopsy1582
chuck1589
bonny1594
chick1594
sweetikin1596
ladybird1597
angel1598
muss1598
pinkany1599
sweetkin1599
duck1600
joy1600
sparrowc1600
sucket1605
nutting1606
chuckaby1607
tickling1607
bagpudding1608
heartling1608
chucking1609
dainty1611
flittermouse1612
honeysuckle1613
fubs1614
bawcocka1616
pretty1616
old thinga1625
bun1627
duckling1630
bulchin1633
bulch?c1640
sweetling1648
friscoa1652
ding-dongs1662
buntinga1668
cocky1680
dearie1681
chucky1683
lovey1684
machree1689
nykin1693
pinkaninny1696
nug1699
hinny1724
puss1753
pet1767
dovey1769
sweetie1778
lovey-dovey1781
lovely1791
ducky1819
toy1822
acushla1825
alanna1825
treat1825
amigo1830
honey child1832
macushla1834
cabbage1840
honey-bunch1874
angel pie1878
m'dear1887
bach1889
honey baby1895
prawn1895
hon1896
so-and-so1897
cariad1899
pumpkin1900
honey-bun1902
pussums1912
snookums1919
treasure1920
wogger1922
amico1929
sugar1930
baby cake1949
angel cake1951
lamb-chop1962
petal1974
bae2006
society > leisure > entertainment > frolicking or romping > [noun] > frolicker
wantonc1450
friskera1549
a merry (or mad) grig1566
friskin1596
uptails1602
gamester1616
romp1678
romper?1780
frolicker1801
skylarker1818
larker1826
rollicker1837
larrikin1868
rompster1893
jive-ass1964
c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 99 The rewler of this habitacioun Hight tyme a-past which with glad countenaunce Seide me wanton [Fr. Amy] haue ye yet found sesoun To come and take here this poore soiournaunce.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. B4 Sephestias song to her childe. Weepe not my wanton, smile vpon my knee.
1616 B. Jonson Oberon 89 in Wks. I Silenus [to the Satyrs] Peace my wantons.
1774 R. Potter Poems 26 The little wantons pant and glow with joy, Eager to gather up each sparkling toy.
1823 F. MacDonogh Hermit Abroad I. 98 He gave sugar-plums and bon-bons to the little wantons who infest the neighbourhood of the Rue St. Honoré.
1918 A. S. Barry Little Girl who couldn't Get-over-it 216 They are like so many children at play. Ah me!—and perfect little wantons.
1961 M. Michael tr. A. Mykle Song of Red Ruby 39 It was as though they had never been little wantons running giggling through the corridors and saloons.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by nature > [noun] > little or playful
jolyvet1413
wanton1608
sprite1684
sportling1725
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vii. 285 As the Cokney did to the eeles, when she put vm it h pâst aliue, she rapt vm ath coxcombs with a stick, and cryed downe wantons downe.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 420 Their Sister Silvia cherish'd with her Care The little Wanton [sc. a young stag].
a1717 W. Diaper tr. Oppian Halieuticks (1722) i. 34 The feather'd Wantons play, Seek out their Mates, and bill on ev'ry Spray.
1791 in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1890) IV. vii. 17/2 And tak a halter..And..wap it oer the Wanton's nose, And tie her to the gray mare's tail.
1805 W. Wordsworth Waggoner iii. 118 Yon screech-owl,..I know that Wanton's noisy station.
1812 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Paradiso v. 83 The lamb, That, fickle wanton, leaves its mother's milk, To dally with itself in idle play.
2. A lustful or lecherous person; a person inclined to loose or unrestrained sexual conduct; a prostitute; spec. (with possessive) a (man's) mistress. Also (in a milder sense): a flirt.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [noun] > person
harlotc1330
swiverc1440
wantonc1500
hobby-horse1598
incontinent1598
gamester1609
impure1784
c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) l. 1635 Ryght so wantons, by her wyldenesse, Oft sythe bryng hem sylf in dystresse, Because they somtyme to largely deele.
1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus iii. i. sig. Nivv He..playeth his parte stoutely or lyke a man, whyle the swete man .i. the plesantly disposed wanton leadeth wenches.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iv. i. 70 O tis the spite of hell,..To lip a wanton in a secure Coach, And to suppose her chaste. View more context for this quotation
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Northampt. 281 She confessed her self too worthless to be his wife, yet pleaded too worthy to be his wanton.
1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 248 An old Wanton, will be doating upon Women, when he can scarce see without Spectacles.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 171. ⁋1 Nothing would more powerfully..guard inexperience from seduction, than a just description of the condition into which the wanton plunges herself.
a1779 D. Garrick in R. B. Sheridan Trip to Scarborough (1781) Prol. Those writers well and wisely use their pens, Who turn our Wantons into Magdalens.
1822 F. J. Didier Franklin's Lett. to Kinsfolk II. xlii. 97 Languishing for some months in the lap of his wanton.
1861 J. M'Gilchrist Life & Daring Exploits Ld. Dundonald xvii. 227 The descendants of the wantons of Charles II.
1887 M. E. Braddon Like & Unlike II. xiii. 221 You are a wanton by nature; but you have reckoned without your host, you fair, false devil. You shall not live to dishonour me.
1932 R. Macaulay They were Defeated i. viii. 62 ‘You ogled her as if you thought to join the dance with her yourself.’..‘So I would if she'd let me. The pretty wanton!’
1960 R. Davies Voice from Attic ii. 87 The idea was widely held then that women submitted themselves to the act of procreation submissively, but with some disgust, and that they could find no pleasure in it. A woman who did so was a wanton.
1993 J. Neil Waters of Eden (BNC) To hear you talk, anyone would think I was some kind of wanton, a man-stealer.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > [noun] > person > spoiled person or child
wanton1526
wag-wanton1601
the mind > emotion > love > tenderness > foolish affection, excessive love or fondness > [noun] > one who is petted or a pet > spoilt child
wanton1526
nestle-cock1582
mammothrept1601
pet1721
loll1728
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Miii Our lorde knoweth wel that we be wantons..and..farre fro the holy lyfe of perfection.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke Pref. ij A Queene..if she would become fortunes wanton, she might without coumptrollemente swimme in the delices of all suche prosperitee.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 2v I am enforced to thincke..that thy parentes made thee a wanton wyth to much cockeringe.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) v. i. 70 Shall a beardlesse boy, A cockred-silken wanton braue our fields. View more context for this quotation
1627 R. Sanderson Ten Serm. 166 A Father may loue his childe too fondly, and make him a wanton.
1837 F. Kemble Star of Seville (ed. 2) v. i. 122 The mincing gait and lisping syllables of a pampered wanton.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [noun] > instance(s) of
follyc1300
rageousness?1529
wantons1727
1727 P. Longueville Hermit 53 'Tis to be hop'd you won't be troubled with the Wantons, and play the Trick your Sister Juno did.
Phrases
P1. to play the wanton (formerly also †the wantons, †the wanton's part): to dally, trifle; to behave lewdly or lasciviously; to flirt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > be idle or unoccupied [verb (intransitive)] > potter or waste time in trifling activity
trifle?a1400
loiterc1400
tiffc1440
tifflec1440
to pick a salad1520
to play the wanton1529
fiddle1530
dauntc1540
piddle1545
dally?1548
pittlea1568
pingle1574
puddle1591
to thrum caps1594
maginate1623
meecha1625
pudder1624
dabble1631
fanfreluche1653
dawdlea1656
taigle17..
niff-naff1728
tiddle1747
peddle1755
gammer1788
quiddle1789
muddle1791
browse1803
niddle1808
poke1811
fal-lal1818
potter1824
footer1825
putter1827
shaffle1828
to fool about1838
mike1838
piffle1847
mess1853
to muck about1856
tinker1856
bohemianize1857
to fool around1860
frivol1866
june1869
muss1876
to muddle about (also around)1877
slummock1877
dicker1888
moodle1893
to fart about1899
to fart about (or around)1899
plouter1899
futz1907
monkey1916
to arse around1919
to play around1929
to fuck around1931
tool1932
frig1933
boondoggle1935
to muck around1935
to screw around1935
to bugger about1937
to bugger around1939
to piss about1943
to dick around1948
to jerk around1953
fart-arse1954
to fanny around1969
slop1973
dork1982
to twat around (or about)1992
to dick about1996
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > be licentious [verb (intransitive)] > act or behave
ragea1400
to play the wanton1529
to play the wanton's part1529
ramp1530
wanton1589
wantonize1592
colta1599
wantonize1611
lasciviate1628
to shake a loose (also free) leg1743
Corinthianize1810
playboy1950
1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys i. f. xviv Yf the wench be nyce and play the wanton and make the mater strange then wyll he bete her to bed to.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II iii. iii. 163 Or shall we play the wantons with our woes, And make some prety match with sheading teares. View more context for this quotation
1612 W. Fennor Cornu-copiæ 2 Wiues play the wantons, husbands were the horne, And patience, (though a vertue) weares the scorne.
a1677 T. Manton 190 Serm. on 119th Psalm (1681) 290 The word of God was appointed..to increase our reverence of God; Not that we may play the wantons with Promises, and feed our Lusts with them.
1709 M. Prior Poems Several Occasions 259 Did e'er my Tongue speak my unguarded Heart The least inclin'd to play the Wanton's Part?
1852 ‘I. Marvel’ Dream Life 120 It has very likely occurred to you, my reader, that I am playing the wanton in these sketches.
1986 O. Friedrich City of Nets viii. 268 Gilda reacted by playing the wanton.
2012 Woman's Era (Nexis) 5 Mar. Throwing aside her natural modesty and shyness, she played the wanton, and charmed the nawab.
ΚΠ
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 100 The Carll was wantoun of word, and wox wonder wraith.
Compounds
C1. Parasynthetic, etc. N.E.D. (1921) listed a compound wanton mad, defined as ‘mad with the insolence of prosperity’, but cf. the most recent edition of the text from which this was taken:† wanton sick adj. Obsolete
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1683 (1955) IV. 331 In a word we were Wanton, madd, and surfeiting with prosperity.
wanton-eyed adj.
ΚΠ
1603 N. Breton Merrie Dialogue 10 A..sharpe witted, wanton eyed, and faire handed..gentlewoman.
?1799 Masquerade 3 8 Come, wanton-eyed frolic, and sport in my train; Let goat-bearded wisdom read lectures in vain.
1890 Littell's Living Age 13 Dec. 691/2 Ah! what phantom troops of gay ladies, dark-haired and wanton-eyed.
2008 Slate Mag. (Nexis) 31 July One day, Jane meets a wanton-eyed minx with a 10-gallon handbag.
wanton-headed adj.
ΚΠ
1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron II. viii. vii. f. 85v A wanton-headed Lady, could finde no other subiect to worke her mocking folly on, but a learned Scholler.
1918 D. H. Lawrence New Poems 22 By-paths where the wanton-headed flowers doff their hood.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [adjective] > other mental illness
sin-wooda1325
wanton sick1602
affective1858
theroid1867
fetishized1889
fetish1901
negativistic1902
pseudo-homosexual1908
involutional1910
regressive1911
lata1913
sadomasochistic1921
rejected1931
catathymic1934
acting-out1945
nemesistic1945
sadomasochist1945
acted-out1996
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge ii. iii. sig. D2v That griefe is wanton sick, Whose stomacke can digest and brooke the dyet Of stale ill relisht counsell.
1608 R. Armin Nest of Ninnies sig. A3 The world wanton sick, as one surfetting on sinne.
wanton-winged adj. now rare
ΚΠ
1581 T. Howell His Deuises sig. I.j A wanton winged boy forsooth he is.
1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Tragedies 128 Each insect, and each wanton-winged bird.
1905 J. D. Quackenbos New Hampsh. as Vac. State in N. J. Bachelder Rep. Board Agric. 30 The field vetch opens its azure hoods to the wanton-winged swarm.
C2. † wanton-meat n. Scottish Obsolete rare food prepared to celebrate the birth of a child.
ΚΠ
1823 J. Kennedy Poems & Songs 67 Nae dirt, I wat, stuck to his feet On gatherin' in the wanton meat.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Wanton-meat, the entertainment of spirits and sweet-meats given to those in a house in which a child is born,..Teviotd.; elsewhere called Blithe-meat.
Derivatives
ˈwantonlike adv. and adj.
ΚΠ
1595 R. Parry Moderatus xv. sig. T2v The vine or Iuie claspes the tree, And wanton-like did bite my lippe in sport.
?1617 T. Campion 3rd & 4th Bk. Ayres iii. xxii. sig. Ev Though she be wilde and wanton-like in shew, Those little staines in youth I will not see.
1840 New-Yorker 17 Oct. 65/3 Summer, unrob'd of all the glowing charms That graced her prime, but wild and wantonlike, For a brief while returns.
2011 T. Evans Longarm & Cross Fire Girl (Electronic ed.) vii. She stared up at him all scared and wantonlike.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
wantonv.
/ˈwɒntən/, U.S. /ˈwɑntən/, /ˈwɔntən/ Now chiefly poetic and literary.
1. † d. transitive. With out. To drive (something) away in amorous, dissolute, or idle play. Also: to spend (a period of time) in a wanton manner. Obsolete.
a. intransitive. To pass one's time carelessly; to go idly or heedlessly (up and down, over, through a place). Also with on. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > idly or aimlessly
wantonc1550
random1561
sponge1825
slosh1854
to scull around1921
the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > sloth or laziness > be slothful or lazy [verb (intransitive)] > idle or loaf
luskc1330
lubber1530
to play the truant, -s1560
lazea1592
lazy1612
meecha1625
lounge1671
saunter1672
sloungea1682
slive1707
soss1711
lolpoop1722
muzz1758
shack1787
hulkc1793
creolize1802
maroon1808
shackle1809
sidle1828
slinge1834
sossle1837
loaf1838
mike1838
to sit around1844
hawm1847
wanton1847
sozzle1848
mooch1851
slosh1854
bum1857
flane1876
slummock1877
dead-beat1881
to lop about1881
scow1901
scowbank1901
stall1916
doss1937
plotz1941
lig1960
loon1969
c1550 Clariodus (1830) v. l. 2330 Thair brandis cleir wantoun up and doun Againes the sonis fervent beamis bright Unto the pepill terribill was the fight.
1602 T. Lodge tr. Josephus Wks. 112 Now they suspecting nothing, securely and pleasantly wantoned on their way.
1682 Kirchevall tr. Nepos, Elysander 46 They left their ships to the mercy of the winds and waves and carelessly wanton'd up and down the fields [L. dispalati in agris].
1741 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 139/1 The Carp, the Pike, and the Trout were wantoning up and down the stream.
1786 S. Henley tr. W. Beckford Arabian Tale 177 The horses, camels, and guards, wantoned over their tulips and other flowers; and made a terrible havock amongst them.
1807 J. Barlow Columbiad viii. 305 Steeds, herds and flocks o'er northern regions rove, Embrown the hill and wanton thro the grove.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 70 O tell her, Swallow, that thy brood is flown: Say to her, I do but wanton in the South But in the North long since my nest is made.
1916 L. P. Jacks From Human End i. 3 Like guests in a hospitable mansion where we may eat and drink, work and wanton, as we please.
1927 V. Woolf To Lighthouse ii. ix. 217 It might well be, said Mrs. McNab, wantoning on with her memories.
b. intransitive. Chiefly of a child or (esp. young) animal: to play idly, to frolic unrestrainedly, to gambol. Also transitive with it. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > frolicking or romping > frolic [verb (intransitive)]
floxec1200
ragea1275
to dance antics1545
rig1570
to keep (also play) reaks1573
wanton1582
wantonize1592
frolic1593
wantonize1611
hoit1613
mird?c1625
to play about1638
freak1663
romp1665
rump1680
ramp1735
jinket1742
skylark1771
to cut up1775
rollick1786
hoity-toity1790
fun1802
lark1813
gammock1832
haze1848
marlock1863
train1877
horse1901
mollock1932
spadger1939
grab-ass1957
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iv. 74 Yf a..Prittye lad Æneas, in my court, wantoned [L. luderet], ere thow Took'st this filthye fleing.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. i. 19 We shall Present our seruices to a fine new Prince One of these dayes, and then youl'd wanton with vs, If we would haue you. View more context for this quotation
1657 G. Thornley tr. Longus Daphnis & Chloe 53 A boy appear'd in the..grove. Naked he was, alone he was; he play'd and wantoned it about.
1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey III. xi. 554 Thy infant son her fragrant bosom prest, Hung at her knee, or wanton'd at her breast.
1762 W. Falconer Shipwreck i. 14 In curling wreathes, they [sc. porpoises] wanton on the tide, Now sport aloft, now downward swiftly glide.
1818 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto IV clxxxiv. 95 And I have loved thee, Ocean!..from a boy I wantoned with thy breakers.
1823 C. Lamb Christ's Hosp. in Elia 30 How merrily we would sally forth..and strip under the first warmth of the sun; and wanton like young dace in the streams.
1827 J. Keble Christian Year II. xciv. 171 As bloodhounds hush their baying wild To wanton with some fearless child.
1894 J. Davidson Unhist. Pastoral iii. ii. 40 And wanton it like twinkling earthly stars, Outpeering those who then will deftly tread In joyous, maiden mirth.
1981 P. O'Brian Ionian Mission iii. 84 They sat on the poop under a cloudless sky..gazing at the white-flecked pure blue sea and the various gulls that wantoned in the wake.
c. intransitive. To indulge in amorous or lascivious behaviour (with someone). Also transitive with it. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > be licentious [verb (intransitive)] > act or behave
ragea1400
to play the wanton1529
to play the wanton's part1529
ramp1530
wanton1589
wantonize1592
colta1599
wantonize1611
lasciviate1628
to shake a loose (also free) leg1743
Corinthianize1810
playboy1950
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. Ev As if Venus in a countrey peticoate had thought to wanton it with her louely Adonis.
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. i. 21 I will be bright and shine in pearle and golde, To wait vpon this new made Emperesse. To wait said I? to wanton with this Queene. View more context for this quotation
1665 R. Brathwait Comment Two Tales Chaucer 54 He who even now, so lasciviously wantonned,..see how he is scarrified!
1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. v. 233 On the very day of his Coronation, he abruptly withdrew himself from the Company of his Peers,..to sit wantoning in the Chamber with this Algiva.
?1715 W. Bond Spectator No. 61. 315 Is this my Love, can she Thus wanton it, with any Man but me?
1728 E. Young Love of Fame: Universal Passion (ed. 2) vi. 384 Who marry to be free, to range the more, And wed one man, to wanton with a score.
1823 J. Galt Entail I. iv. 30 The day's no far aff, when ministers of the gospel in Glasgow will be seen chambering and wantoning to the sound o' the kist fu' o' whistles.
1869 A. Milman tr. S. Kohn Gabriel, Story of Jews in Prague v. 229 At that very moment my brother was wantoning in the arms of an adulterous woman.
1932 T. E. Lawrence tr. Homer Odyssey (new ed.) xxii. 303 Women who have heaped shame on my head and my mother's, and have wantoned with the suitors.
1983 L. Auchincloss Exit Lady Masham vi. 55 She has been wantoning with this lewd fellow under my very nose.
2009 G. Maguire Helen of Troy ii. 59 Helen is..more beautiful than Jove when he appeared to Semele or wantoned with Arethusa.
ΚΠ
1589 T. Brabine In Praise of Author in R. Greene Menaphon sig. *3v Whose warbling tunes might wanton out my woes.
a1652 R. Brome Novella i. i. sig. H7, in Five New Playes (1653) Not to wanton out your holy vowes Dancing your selfes to th'Devill.
1799 H. Harrington in Select. of Favourite Catches, Glees, &c. 55 To the merry, merry pipe, how they wanton out the day.
1820 T. Bailey What is Life? 19 The Summer sunbeam wantons out his hours With some fair Naiad, or the light wing'd breeze.
1863 Female Missionary Intelligencer 2 Mar. 70 The little firefly, which wantons out its brief life in the shadows of evening.
e. intransitive. In extended use. Of an inanimate thing: to play; to move playfully.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > idly or aimlessly > of inanimate things
wanton1612
1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion ii. 27 When, like some childish wench, shee [sc. the river Stour] looselie wantoning, With tricks and giddie turnes seemes to in-Ile the shore.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) Induct. ii. 51 Citherea all in sedges hid, Which seeme to moue and wanton with her breath. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 371 And dancing Leaves, that wanton'd in the Wind.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa III. vi. 53 The wavy ringlets of her shining hair,..wantoning in and about a neck that is beautiful beyond description.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc vi. 124 When afar they..mark the distant towers Of Orleans, and..many a streamer wantoning in air.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice II. v. i. 77 The sea-breeze wantoned amongst the quivering leaves of the chestnut-tree that over-hung their seat.
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table x. 284 The Connecticut..wantons in huge luxurious oxbows about the fair Northampton meadows.
1914 E. von Arnim Pastor's Wife ii. 12 Her soft mouse-colour hat..came down well over her eyes and ears, and little rings of cheerful hair of a Scandinavian colouring wantoned beneath it.
1934 ‘N. West’ Cool Million ii. 17 When your [sc. a flag's] gorgeous folds shall wanton in the summer air.
f. intransitive. With with. To trifle; to dabble; to play around, to make sport.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > mere amusement > do for mere amusement [verb (intransitive)]
playOE
fanglea1400
mock1440
jest1530
paddle1616
wanton1628
fun1802
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrespect > be disrespectful [verb (intransitive)] > trifle with something serious
truff1485
trifle it1563
wanton1628
1628 J. Jackson Ecclesiastes 34 Natura ludente, (saith Cardan) nature even sporting and as it were wantoning with change.
a1675 J. Lightfoot Wks. (1684) II. 1172 Wantoning with the Word of God, and dallying with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is but too justly punished with the loss of it.
1780 T. Davies Mem. Life David Garrick I. xxvii. 308 This actress did not confine herself to parts of superior elegance; she loved to wanton with ignorance when combined with humour.
1781 Parl. Reg. 1781–96 II. 20 He trusted the house would excuse him for having wantoned with their patience on this point.
1801 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 137/2 Those armies whose honour and lives were thus wantoned with.
1852 G. Bancroft Hist. Amer. Revol. IV. x. 245 Having wantoned with the resentment of the successor and his mother, Newcastle became terrified and yielded.
1901 M. H. Austin in Munsey's Mag. July 493/2 The desert wantoned with his intimate desires, kindled, and promised, and withheld.
1962 M. B. Stern We the Women 271 To unearth those vile traducers who wantoned with her good name, she and her husband paid periodic visits to the United States.
1990 C. Paglia Sexual Personae xxiv. 629 Literally, to wanton with bones is to toss them about, as if mixing a salad.
2. transitive. To make (someone) wanton; to lead into extravagances of conduct, living, etc.; to dishonour.In quot. c1745: to fill with extravagant joy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > lack of moderation or restraint > do excessively [verb (transitive)] > make immoderate or unrestrained
wanton?1582
wantonize1606
?1582 A. Hay Let. in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1842) II. 335 And for his preserwation and caussis foirsaid may nocht suffer him to pas fra my presence wontoning the lawfull successioun begottin of his body.
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xxvi. sig. N2 If wee sleepe, hee [sc. the Devil] comes in dreames, and wantonneth the ill-inclining soule.
1683 I. Walton Chalkhill's Thealma & Clearchus 88 For he reign'd More like a Beast than Man;..weak'ning his strength By wantoning his people, without Law Or Exercise to keep their minds in awe.
c1745 in J. Hogg Jacob. Relics (1821) 88 Auld Scotland shall again be free: O that's the thing wad wanton me!
1975 M. Hardwick tr. A. Dumas Four Musketeers v. 45 He was a great man and might have wantoned her. But he was a man of honor so he married her.
1998 S. Carroll Bride Finder xvi. 232 The same breeze that had uncivilized him seemed to have wantoned her.
3.
a. intransitive. To behave or live extravagantly or without due restraint; to become self-indulgent or dissolute; to indulge, luxuriate, revel (in something); spec. to indulge in extravagances of language or thought. Also transitive with it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > lack of moderation or restraint > act immoderately or without restraint [verb (intransitive)]
overdoa1325
outragea1387
surfeitc1400
outraya1450
exceed1488
lasha1560
overlash1579
overlaunch1579
wanton1631
extravagate1829
wallow1876
to hit the high spots1891
to go overboard1931
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > fancy or fantastic notion > indulge in fancy [verb (intransitive)]
to feign to oneself1377
feign1557
chimerize1651
wanton1794
fantasticate1880
pipe-dream1910
fantasize1926
1631 T. May tr. J. Barclay Mirrour of Mindes i. 5 Soe that both the awe of their parents may not too sensibly decrease in them, and they not wanton it [L. lasciviant], through a suddaine, and vnexpected encrease of liberty.
1640 T. Fuller Joseph's Coat 50 The witty extravagancies, and Rhetoricall phrases of these Fathers, were afterward interpreted to be their distilled doctrinall positions: so dangerous it is for any to wanton it with their wits in mysteries of Religion.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 148. ⁋2 The power [parental authority] which we are taught to honour from the first moments of reason;..and which therefore may wanton in cruelty without control.
1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 190. ⁋10 His house was soon crowded with poets, sculptors, painters, and designers, who wantoned in unexperienced plenty.
1794 E. Burke Wks. (1827) XV. 86 We are not persons of an age,—of a disposition—..to wanton as these counsel call it; that is to invent fables concerning Indian antiquity.
1838 T. B. Macaulay in Edinb. Rev. Oct. 185 He ran no risks; he left no crevice unguarded; he wantoned in no paradoxes.
1850 C. Kingsley Alton Locke I. iv. 60 Because he would not sit..and starve..while those who fattened on the sweat of his brow..were wantoning on venison and champagne.
1894 O. Elton in tr. Saxo Grammaticus Nine Bks. Danish Hist. v. 166 O thou, wantoning in insolent phrase, in boastful and bedizened speech.
1920 L. W. Dodd Bk. of Susan ii. 22 Susan, propped straight up by now against pillows, wantoned in this finery.
1931 Sewanee Rev. 39 245 Keats, following Spenser, was wantoning in the luxuriance of that versatile fancy which struck M. Wolff in Endymion.
b. intransitive. Of a garden, plant, nature, etc.: to flourish profusely or extravagantly; to grow unchecked. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > prosper or flourish [verb (intransitive)] > exceedingly
overflourish1592
wanton1667
the world > the earth > land > landscape > fertile land or place > be fertile or fruitful [verb (intransitive)]
brima1325
wanton1667
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 295 A Wilderness of sweets; for Nature here Wantond as in her prime, and plaid at will Her Virgin Fancies. View more context for this quotation
1715 S. Croxall Vision 18 Here, close retir'd within the Sea-girt Shore, Nature profuse wantons with all her Store.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. xxxiii. 409 From this root has sprung a bastard slip, known by the name of the game law, now arrived to and wantoning in it's highest vigour.
1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Misc. Tracts 296/1 On the latter [garden] no decoration of art has been spared; the former wantons in all the luxuriance of nature.
1833 T. Chalmers On Power, Wisdom, & Goodness of God II. x. 114 All nature smiles in beauty, or wantons in bounteousness for our enjoyment.
1881 Primitive Methodist Q. Rev. Jan. 153 Unchecked and unused, this sense of strength wantons out into pride.
1890 A. Conan Doyle White Company xviii As though some great ivy-plant of stone had curled and wantoned over the walls.
1907 E. Gosse Father & Son v. 113 [A] wilderness, in which loose furze-bushes and untrimmed brambles wantoned into the likeness of trees.
1997 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 29 Jan. 17 This parasitic flora has wantoned and nourished itself on the political errors of several decades.
4. † b. intransitive. To deal carelessly or wastefully (with property, resources). Obsolete.
a. transitive. To fritter (esp. time, resources, etc.) away; to spend carelessly or wastefully; to dissipate.
ΚΠ
1634 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. Hist. New Test. (STC 12640.7) i. 426 He wantons away his life foolishly, that, when he is well, will take physick to make him sick.
1669 S. Pepys Diary 28 Apr. (1976) IX. 536 With this money the King shall wanton away his time in pleasures.
1725 Dublin Weekly Jrnl. 16 Oct. 114/1 One Child wantoning away his Fortune in Vice and Extravagance.
a1784 T. Morell tr. Seneca Epist. (1786) I. xlix. 169 The Lyric Poets..professedly wanton away their time.
1811 J. Pratt in R. Cecil's Wks. (1827) I. 121 A minister has no right to wanton away the support of his family.
1884 J. Payne tr. Tales from Arabic I. 220 How shall I go to his father and say to him, ‘Thy son hath wasted thy money and wantoned it away’?
1903 H. B. Marriott Watson Alarums & Excursions 172 It is your nature. You can wanton away men's lives for a jest.
1928 D. Barnes Ryder xliii. 247 The horses shall have what I've wasted on women, and the cards shall have what I've wantoned on women.
1967 J. F. Nims Local Habitation (1985) 254 Don't give love away, he exhorts himself; don't wanton away so rare a substance on the all and sundry.
2011 Himalayan Times (Nexis) 19 Feb. The money has been wantoned away in the name of NGOs and user groups.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > relinquishing > squandering or prodigality > squander or be prodigal [verb (intransitive)]
waste1390
lasha1560
squander1593
to play the prodigal1602
outlash1611
wanton1646
to light (also burn) the candle at both ends1736
extravagate1871
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [verb (intransitive)] > be wasteful
to make, do waste1390
waste1390
wanton1646
to throw the baby out with the bath1860
1646 J. Hall Horæ Vacivæ iv. 39 [Of Preaching] Though she carry away the Jewels and Eare~rings of the Ægyptians she desires to use them and not wanton with them.
1775 S. Johnson Taxation no Tyranny 47 It is urged that the Americans have not the same security, and that a British Legislature may wanton with their property.
1864 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 27 Oct. 263 We have been wantoning with the bounty of nature.
1869 A. W. Ward tr. E. Curtius Hist. Greece II. iii. iii. 432 The wealthy citizens took pleasure in exhibiting a luxuriant style of life, and in wantoning with purple, gold, and ointments, with horses, hounds, beautiful boys, and festive banquets.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.?a1300
v.c1550