wanton definition | Dictionary.com

wan⋅ton

[won-tn]

–adjective

1.	done, shown, used, etc., maliciously or unjustifiably: a wanton attack; wanton cruelty.

2.	deliberate and without motive or provocation; uncalled-for; headstrong; willful: Why jeopardize your career in such a wanton way?

3.	without regard for what is right, just, humane, etc.; careless; reckless: a wanton attacker of religious convictions.

4.	sexually lawless or unrestrained; loose; lascivious; lewd: wanton behavior.

5.	extravagantly or excessively luxurious, as a person, manner of living, or style.

6.	luxuriant, as vegetation.

Archaic.

a.	sportive or frolicsome, as children or young animals.

b.	having free play: wanton breezes; a wanton brook.

–noun

8.	a wanton or lascivious person, esp. a woman.

–verb (used without object)

9.	to behave in a wanton manner; become wanton.

–verb (used with object)

10.	to squander, esp. in pleasure (often fol. by away): to wanton away one's inheritance.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME wantowen lit., undisciplined, ill-reared, OE wan- not + togen ptp. of tēon to discipline, rear, c. G ziehen, L dūcere to lead; akin to tow ¹

Related forms:

wan⋅ton⋅ly, adverb

wan⋅ton⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. malicious. 2. calculated. 3. heedless, inconsiderate. 4. licentious, dissolute, immoral, libidinous, concupiscent, lustful. 5. lavish. 10. waste.

Antonyms:
3. careful, considerate. 4, 5. restrained.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To wanton

wan·ton (wŏn'tən)

adj.

Immoral or unchaste; lewd.
1. Gratuitously cruel; merciless.
2. Marked by unprovoked, gratuitous maliciousness; capricious and unjust: wanton destruction.
Unrestrainedly excessive: wanton extravagance; wanton depletion of oil reserves.
Luxuriant; overabundant: wanton tresses.
Frolicsome; playful.
Undisciplined; spoiled.
Obsolete Rebellious; refractory.

v.   wan·toned, wan·ton·ing, wan·tons

v.   intr.
To act, grow, or move in a wanton manner; be wanton.
v.   tr.
To waste or squander extravagantly.
n.

One who is immoral, lewd, or licentious.
One that is playful or frolicsome.
One that is undisciplined or spoiled.

[Middle English wantowen : wan-, not, lacking (from Old English; see euə- in Indo-European roots) + towen, past participle of teen, to bring up (from Old English tēon, to lead, draw; see deuk- in Indo-European roots).]
wan'ton·ly adv., wan'ton·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Wanton

Wan"ton\, a. [OE. wantoun, contr. from wantowen; pref. wan- wanting (see Wane, v. i.), hence expressing negation + towen, p. p., AS. togen, p. p. of te['o]n to draw, to educate, bring up; hence, properly, ill bred. See Tug, v. t.]

1. Untrained; undisciplined; unrestrained; hence, loose; free; luxuriant; roving; sportive. "In woods and wanton wilderness." --Spenser. "A wild and wanton herd." --Shak.

A wanton and a merry [friar]. --Chaucer.

[She] her unadorned golden tresses wore Disheveled, but in wanton ringlets waved. --Milton.

How does your tongue grow wanton in her praise! --Addison.

2. Wandering from moral rectitude; perverse; dissolute. "Men grown wanton by prosperity." --Roscommon.

3. Specifically: Deviating from the rules of chastity; lewd; lustful; lascivious; libidinous; lecherous.

Not with wanton looking of folly. --Chaucer.

[Thou art] froward by nature, enemy to peace, Lascivious, wanton. --Shak.

4. Reckless; heedless; as, wanton mischief.

Wanton

Wan"ton\, n. 1. A roving, frolicsome thing; a trifler; -- used rarely as a term of endearment.

I am afeard you make a wanton of me. --Shak.

Peace, my wantons; he will do More than you can aim unto. --B. Jonson.

2. One brought up without restraint; a pampered pet.

Anything, sir, That's dry and wholesome; I am no bred wanton. --Beau. & Fl.

3. A lewd person; a lascivious man or woman.

Wanton

Wan"ton\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wantoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Wantoning.]

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

Nature here wantoned as in her prime. --Milton.

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! --Lamb.

2. To sport in lewdness; to play the wanton; to play lasciviously.

Wanton

Wan"ton\, v. t. To cause to become wanton; also, to waste in wantonness. [Obs.]

Language Translation for : wanton

Spanish: sin motivo, injustificado; gratuito,

German: mutwillig,

Japanese: 勝手気ままな

More Translations »

wanton (adj.)

c.1300, wan-towen, from M.E. privative prefix wan- "wanting, lacking" (from O.E. wan "wanting;" see wane) + togen, pp. of teon "to train, discipline;" lit. "to pull, draw," from P.Gmc. *teuhan (cf. O.H.G. ziohan "to pull;" see tug). The basic notion perhaps is "ill-bred, poorly brought up;" cf. Ger. ungezogen "ill-bred, rude, haughty," lit. "unpulled."

"As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, They kill vs for their sport." [Shakespeare, "Lear," 1605]

Noun sense of "lascivious, lewd person" is attested from 1529. The verb is recorded from 1582. The only Eng. survival of a once-common Gmc. negating prefix still active in Du. (cf. wanbestuur "misgovernment," wanluid "discordant sound"), Ger. (wahn-), etc.

Main Entry: wan·ton
Pronunciation: 'wänt-^&n, 'wont-
Function: adjective
: manifesting extreme indifference to a risk of injury to another that is known or should have been known : characterized by knowledge of and utter disregard for probability of resulting harm wanton act> wanton or willful misconduct> —see also RECKLESS
NOTE: Wanton reckless, and willful are often used to refer to an aggravated level of negligence that borders on intent and that is often ground for an award of punitive damages. —wan·ton·ly adverb —wan·ton·ness noun

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