wilder

¹

[ wil-der ]

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to lose one's way.
2. to bewilder.

verb (used without object)

1. to lose one's way.
2. to be bewildered.

wilder

²

[ wahyl-der ]

adjective

1. comparative of wild.

Wilder

³

[ wahyl-der ]

noun

1. Billy Samuel Wilder, 1906–2002, U.S. film director, producer, and writer; born in Austria.
2. Laura In·galls [ing, -g, uh, lz], 1867–1957, U.S. writer of children's books.
3. Thorn·ton (Niv·en) [thawrn, -tn , niv, -, uh, n], 1897–1975, U.S. novelist and playwright.

wilder

¹

/ ˈwɪldə /

verb

1. to lead or be led astray
2. to bewilder or become bewildered

Wilder

²

/ ˈwaɪldə /

noun

1. WilderBilly19062002MUSAustrianFILMS AND TV: directorFILMS AND TV: writer Billy, real name Samuel Wilder. 1906–2002, US film director and screenwriter, born in Austria. His films include Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Some Like it Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), and Buddy Buddy (1981)
2. WilderThornton18971975MUSWRITING: novelistTHEATRE: dramatist Thornton. 1897–1975 US novelist and dramatist. His works include the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) and the play The Skin of Our Teeth (1942)

Derived Forms

• ˈwilderment, noun

Other Words From

• wilder·ment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wilder¹

First recorded in 1605–15; perhaps extracted from wilderness; intransitive use probably by association with wander

Word History and Origins

Origin of wilder¹

C17: of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

The process sounds normal, but when you see the characters they were portraying and the things they were doing, “Ghost Cat Anzu” becomes all the weirder and wilder — and better.

From Los Angeles Times

And Leon has recast Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” and made it a reflection of today’s multicultural America.

From Los Angeles Times

In “Sunset Blvd.,” based on Billy Wilder’s 1950 film, the camera is undeniably king.

From Los Angeles Times

Wilder’s drama, offering a guided tour of an ordinary town going about its diurnal business, reminds us, through the inescapable shadow of mortality, of what we have in common.

From Los Angeles Times

For all its demographic changes, Leon’s “Our Town,” which is infused with spirituals from wide-ranging religious traditions, completely accepting of an interracial relationship and welcoming of other forms of diversity that likely would have been pushed to the outer margins in the Grover’s Corners that Wilder imagined, feels utterly in sync with the play’s prevailing spirit.

From Los Angeles Times