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Synonyms

wandering

American  
[won-der-ing] / ˈwɒn dər ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. moving from place to place without a fixed plan; roaming; rambling.

    Crowds of wandering tourists crossed the square.

  2. having no permanent residence; nomadic.

    They were historically a wandering people, moving seasonally through the area.

  3. meandering; winding.

    They followed a wandering path down the mountain.

noun

  1. an aimless roving about; leisurely traveling from place to place.

    For our honeymoon we had a period of delightful wandering through Italy.

  2. Usually wanderings.

    1. aimless travels; meanderings.

      Her wanderings took her all over the world.

    2. disordered thoughts or utterances; incoherencies.

      mental wanderings;

      the wanderings of delirium.

  3. seemingly aimless or random movement from one place to another by a person with a mental or cognitive disability or impairment.

    Wandering by Alzheimer’s patients is a problem in nursing homes.

Other Word Forms

  • unwandering adjective
  • unwanderingly adverb
  • wanderingly adverb
  • wanderingness noun

Etymology

Origin of wandering

First recorded before 1000; Middle English (noun, adjective), Old English wandrigende (adjective); see wander ( def. ), -ing 2 ( def. ), -ing 1 ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

These are the footpaths, bridleways and byways that people are legally entitled to use, even if it means wandering across a farmer's field or other private land.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

When movement became too random, congestion disappeared but efficiency dropped due to excessive wandering.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

Images released by local media showed it wandering in the middle of a road.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

It opens with rumbling drums, a wandering upright bass, and an atmospheric synthesizer.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

Miraculously, I hadn’t lost service yet, despite wandering deep into the Sequoyah County boonies.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.