a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a tract of wasteland.
a tract of land officially designated as such and protected by the U.S. government.
any desolate tract, as of open sea.
a part of a garden set apart for plants growing with unchecked luxuriance.
a bewildering mass or collection.
Origin of wilderness
1150–1200; Middle English; Old English *wil(d)dēornes, equivalent to either wil(d)dēor wild beast (see wild, deer) + -nes-ness, or wilddēoren wild, savage (wilddēor + -en-en2) + (-n)es-ness; probably reinforced by Middle English wildernes, genitive of wildern wilderness (noun use of Old English wilddēoren), in phrases like wildernes land land of wilderness
The Clippers — who somehow keep managing to track down canteens in the desert, only to find them empty — now continue on their walk through the wilderness as they enter decade No.
When It Comes To Playoff Disappointment, The Clippers Are In A League Of Their Own|Chris Herring (chris.herring@fivethirtyeight.com)|September 16, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Accelerating climate change, development along wilderness boundaries, and rigid forest management practices have all increased the dangers of devastating wildfires in the state and across much of the American West.
In defense of California|James Temple|September 4, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The places in their network, from Page, Arizona, to Park City, Utah, have seen that they can’t just play off parks or wilderness.
The Recreation Economy Isn't As Resilient As We Thought|Heather Hansman|August 29, 2020|Outside Online
Instead the airdrop serves, at great expense, to save trees in the wilderness, where burning, not suppression, might well do more good.
They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen?|by Elizabeth Weil|August 28, 2020|ProPublica
Chestnut says that wolverines are sensitive, shy animals that need a lot of help to recolonize the wilderness they were hunted out of.
Mount Rainier’s first wolverine mama in a century is a sign of the species’ comeback|Hannah Seo|August 28, 2020|Popular Science
They carved a refuge out of the wilderness and then, in 200 years, built it into the most powerful nation on earth.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The original metaphor was: erect a wall to keep the garden of the church free from the wilderness of politics.
Dear Evangelicals: You’re Being Had|Jay Michaelson|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hold the Dark is set in the Alaskan wilderness, in an isolated village at the lip of the tundra.
Compliments Are Nice, but Enough With the Cormac McCarthy Comparisons|William Giraldi|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I went back while Lorne [Michaels] was on his 5-year jaunt in the wilderness, and Ebersol was producing.
Harry Shearer on Being Nixon, ‘The Simpsons Movie’ Sequel, and Why Obama Should Return His Nobel|Marlow Stern|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In short, the wilderness skills and outdoor abilities that the founding mothers intended.
Should Girl Scouts Go Back to Basics?|Will Doig|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thure and Bud were too familiar with this type of wilderness manhood to be worried in the least over their rough looks and dress.
The Cave of Gold|Everett McNeil
They are the true children of the forest and the wilderness.
A Little Girl in Old Detroit|Amanda Minnie Douglas
What does well enough on the target at home is often quite a failure in the wear and tear of the African wilderness.
Life of Frederick Courtenay Selous, D.S.O.|J.G. Millais
Some, indeed, and many of the best, expressed the native genius and crude force that were transforming the wilderness.
Lincoln's Love Story|Eleanor Atkinson
Why should I wish to spend so much money upon building a fort in the wilderness with so many odds against me?
The Chief of the Ranges|H. A. Cody
British Dictionary definitions for wilderness (1 of 2)
wilderness
/ (ˈwɪldənɪs) /
noun
a wild, uninhabited, and uncultivated region
any desolate tract or area
a confused mass or collection
a voice in the wildernessora voice crying in the wildernessa person, group, etc, making a suggestion or plea that is ignored
in the wildernessno longer having influence, recognition, or publicity
Word Origin for wilderness
Old English wildēornes, from wildēor wild beast (from wild + dēor beast, deer) + -ness; related to Middle Dutch wildernisse, German Wildernis
British Dictionary definitions for wilderness (2 of 2)
Wilderness
/ (ˈwɪldənɪs) /
noun
the Wildernessthe 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