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wanton

adj
/ˈwɒntən/UK/ˈwɑntən/US/ˈwɒntən/

Etymology

From Middle English wantoun, wantowen, wantoȝen, wantowe (“uneducated; unrestrained; licentious; sportive; playful”), from wan- (“not, un-, mis-”) + towen, i-towen (“educated”, literally “towed; led; drawn”), from Old English togen, ġetogen, past participle of tēon (“to train, discipline”), equivalent to wan- + towed.

  1. inherited from togen
  2. inherited from wantoun

Definitions

  1. Undisciplined, unruly

    Undisciplined, unruly; not able to be controlled.

    • As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, / They kill us for their sport.

  2. Playful, sportive

    Playful, sportive; merry or carefree.

    • The grave simplicity of the philosopher was ill calculated to engage her wanton levity, or to fix that unbounded passion for variety, which often discovered personal merit in the meanest of mankind.

  3. Lewd, immoral

    Lewd, immoral; sexually open, unchaste.

    • I know I ought never to have dreamt of sending that valentine—forgive me, sir—it was a wanton thing which no woman with any self-respect should have done.
    • People should not marry too young, because, if they do, the children will be weak and female, the wives will become wanton, and the husbands stunted in their growth.
  4. ›+ 10 more definitions

    1. Capricious, reckless of morality, justice etc.

      Capricious, reckless of morality, justice etc.; acting without regard for the law or the well-being of others; gratuitous.

      • Edward himself, now thoroughly enlightened on her character, had no scruple in believing her capable of the utmost meanness of wanton ill-nature.
      • Several cases of serious wanton damage have occurred on the new electric trains on the Manchester-Bury line of the London Midland Region during recent weeks.
      • these developments in Gaza are a consequence of the state of siege that the tiny territory has been under – a society that has been fenced-in, starved, and seen its very fabric torn apart by unemployment and wanton military destruction.

    2. Extravagant, unrestrained, excessive.

      • the market price will rise more or less above the natural price, according as either the greatness of the deficiency, or the wealth and wanton luxury of the competitors, happen to animate more or less the eagerness of the competition.
      • But do not think it argues change of temper since I wrote the Frère review, or a wanton praise of one man and blame of another.

    3. A pampered or coddled person.

      • I would have thee gone — / And yet no farther than a wanton's bird, / That lets it hop a little from her hand, / Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves, / And with a silken thread plucks it back again[…]

    4. An overly playful person

      An overly playful person; a trifler.

      • you but dally, / I pray you passe with your best violence, / I am afeard you make a wanton of me.
      • Peace, my wantons; he will do / More than you can aim unto.

    5. A self-indulgent person, fond of excess.

    6. A lewd or immoral person, especially a prostitute.

      • ...paints with tremendous force the adulteries of the two wantons Aholah and Aholibah, Israel and Judah, and their love of strangers...

    7. To rove and ramble without restraint, rule, or limit

      To rove and ramble without restraint, rule, or limit; to revel; to play loosely; to frolic.

      • […] We will fetch thee straight / Adonis painted by a running brook, / And Cytherea all in sedges hid, / Which seem to move and wanton with her breath / Even as the waving sedges play wi’ th’ wind.
      • […] Nature here / Wantond as in her prime, and plaid at will / Her Virgin Fancies […]
      • How merrily we would sally into the fields; and strip under the first warmth of the sun; and wanton like young dace in the streams […]

    8. To waste or squander, especially in pleasure (most often with away).

      • The young man wantoned away his inheritance.
      • [W]ith this money the King shall wanton away his time in pleasures […]
      • […] Samson, having wantoned away his strength and paying the penalty […]

    9. To act wantonly

      To act wantonly; to be lewd or lascivious.

      • Be loving and courteous to your fellow Servants, not gigling or idling out your time, or wantoning in the society of men […]
      • Happy he that ſips Eternally ſuch Nectar dovvn, that unconfin'd may Lave, and VVanton there in ſateleſs Draughts of ever ſpringing Beauty— […]

    10. wonton (Chinese dumpling)

      • Add wanton, chives and vegetables to broth and season with 1 tablespoon salt, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 chicken cube.
      • Dumplings, wanton, and spring rolls are typical Han foods.

The neighborhood

Derived

wag-wanton, wanton kittens make sober cats, witwanton

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for wanton. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA