wildly

English

Etymology

From Middle English wildely, wijldeli, wildeliche, equivalent to wild +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• enPR: wīldʹlē, IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪldli/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: wild‧ly

Adverb

wildly (comparative more wildly or (uncommon) wildlier, superlative most wildly or (uncommon) wildliest)

1. In a wild, uncontrolled manner.

   He swung wildly at the guy's head, but ended up on the floor.

   • 2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport‎^[1], archived from the original on 6 January 2012:

     Steve Bruce's side have swung from highs to lows in what has been at best a wildly inconsistent start to the season. They experienced a microcosm of this within the opening 45 minutes at the Stadium of Light.

   • 2021 March 10, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 926, page 70:

     "From behind the counter of this provincial train station coffee shop, Joanna was barista and unofficial shrink to wildly varied London-bound travellers," writes author Laline Paull. Confessions of a Barista on Platform 1 was published on February 9 by The Firle Press [...].

2. To a ridiculous or extreme degree; extremely.

   wildly exagerrated

   • 2023 September 13, Matt de la Peña, “‘Mexikid’ and ‘Salsa Magic’ Drive Latino Kids to Their Roots”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN, archived from the original on 4 October 2023:

     The wildly entertaining trip that follows, involving a used Winnebago and an old pickup truck with ropes for seatbelts, has a profound effect on Pedro.

Translations

in a wild manner

• Esperanto: sovaĝe
• Finnish: villisti (fi)
• French: sauvagement (fr)
• Korean: 격렬 (ko) (gyeongnyeol)
• Middle English: wildely
• Polish: wściekle (pl)
• Portuguese: selvagemente, selvaticamente (pt), desvairadamente
• Spanish: alocadamente (es), salvajemente (es)
• Walloon: såvaedjmint (wa), waeraxhmint (wa)