Definitions for wanton
ˈwɒn tnwan·ton

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. wantonadjective

   lewd or lascivious woman

2. motiveless, unprovoked, wantonadjective

   occurring without motivation or provocation

   "motiveless malignity"; "unprovoked and dastardly attack"- F.D.Roosevelt

3. easy, light, loose, promiscuous, sluttish, wantonverb

   casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior

   "her easy virtue"; "he was told to avoid loose (or light) women"; "wanton behavior"

4. piddle, wanton, wanton away, piddle away, trifleverb

   waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently

5. wantonverb

   indulge in a carefree or voluptuous way of life

6. wanton, wanton away, trifle awayverb

   spend wastefully

   "wanton one's money away"

7. luxuriate, wantonverb

   become extravagant; indulge (oneself) luxuriously

8. wantonverb

   engage in amorous play

9. wantonverb

   behave extremely cruelly and brutally

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. wantonnoun

   A pampered or coddled person.

2. wantonnoun

   An overly playful person.

3. wantonnoun

   A self-indulgent person, fond of excess.

4. wantonnoun

   A lewd or immoral person, especially a prostitute.

5. wantonverb

   To act wantonly; become wanton.

6. wantonverb

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

   The young man wantoned away his inheritance.

7. wantonadjective

   Undisciplined, unruly; not able to be controlled.

8. wantonadjective

   Lewd, immoral; sexually open, unchaste.

9. wantonadjective

   Playful, sportive; being merry or carefree (often used figuratively).

10. wantonadjective

    Self-indulgent, fond of excess; luxurious.

11. wantonadjective

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

12. wantonadjective

    Extravagant, unrestrained; excessive (of speech or thought).

13. Etymology: From wan- + (a descendant of) togen, past participle of teon.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wantonnoun

   Etymology: This word is derived by John Minsheu from wantone, a man or woman that wants a companion. This etymology, however odd, Franciscus Junius silently adopts. Stephen Skinner, who had more acuteness, cannot forbear to doubt it, but offers nothing better.

   1. Lascivious; libidinous; letcherous; lustful.

   Thou art froward by nature, enemy to peace,
   Lascivious, wanton; more than well beseems
   A man of thy profession. William Shakespeare, Hen. VI.

   Entic’d to do him wanton rites. John Milton.

   2. Licentious; dissolute.

   My plenteous joys,
   Wanton in fulness, seek to hide themselves
   In drops of sorrow. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

   Men grown wanton by prosperity,
   Study’d new arts of luxury and ease. Wentworth Dillon.

   3. Frolicksome; gay; sportive; airy.

   As flies to wanton boys, we are to th’ gods:
   They kill us for their sport. William Shakespeare, K. Lear.

   Note a wild and wanton herd,
   Or race of youthful and unhandled colts,
   Fetching mad bounds. William Shakespeare, Merch. of Venice.

   Time drives the flocks from field to fold;
   The flow’rs do fade, and wanton fields
   To wayward winter reckoning yields. Walter Raleigh.

   How eagerly ye follow my disgrace,
   As if it fed ye; and how sleek and wanton
   Y’ appear, in every thing may bring my ruin. William Shakespeare.

   4. Loose; unrestrained.

   How does your tongue grow wanton in her praise! Addis.

   5. Quick, and irregular of motion.6. Luxuriant; superfluous.

   What we by day lop overgrown,
   One night or two, with wanton growth derides,
   Tending to wild. John Milton.

   Women richly gay in gems and wanton dress. John Milton.

   7. Not regular; turned fortuitously.

   The quaint mazes in the wanton green,
   For want of tread are indistinguishable. John Milton.

2. Wantonnoun

   1. A lascivious person; a strumpet; a whoremonger.

   An old wanton will be doating upon women, when he can scarce see without spectacles. Robert South, Sermons.

   To lip a wanton in a secure couch,
   And to suppose her chaste. William Shakespeare, Othello.

   2. A trifler; an insignificant flutterer.

   Shall a beardless boy,
   A cocker’d, silken wanton brave your fields,
   Mocking the air with colours idly spread,
   And find no check? William Shakespeare, K. John.

   Pass with your best violence;
   I am afraid you make a wanton of me. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

   3. A word of slight endearment.

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

3. To Wantonverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To play lasciviously.

   He from his guards and midnight tent,
   Disguis’d o’er hills and vallies went,
   To wanton with the sprightly dame,
   And in his pleasure lost his fame. Matthew Prior.

   2. To revel; to play.

   Oh! I heard him wanton in his praise;
   Speak things of him might charm the ears. Thomas Otway.

   Nature here
   Wanton’d as in her prime, and play’d at will
   Her virgin fancies. John Milton.

   O ye muses! deign your blest retreat,
   Where Quintus Horatius Flaccus wantons at your spring,
   And Pindar sweeps a bolder string. Elijah Fenton.

   3. To move nimbly, and irregularly.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. Wantonverb

   untrained; undisciplined; unrestrained; hence, loose; free; luxuriant; roving; sportive

2. Wantonverb

   wandering from moral rectitude; perverse; dissolute

3. Wantonverb

   specifically: Deviating from the rules of chastity; lewd; lustful; lascivious; libidinous; lecherous

4. Wantonverb

   reckless; heedless; as, wanton mischief

5. Wantonnoun

   a roving, frolicsome thing; a trifler; -- used rarely as a term of endearment

6. Wantonnoun

   one brought up without restraint; a pampered pet

7. Wantonnoun

   a lewd person; a lascivious man or woman

8. Wantonverb

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

9. Wantonverb

   to sport in lewdness; to play the wanton; to play lasciviously

10. Wantonverb

    to cause to become wanton; also, to waste in wantonness

11. Etymology: [OE. wantoun, contr. from wantowen; pref. wan- wanting (see Wane, v. i.), hence expressing negation + towen, p. p., AS. togen, p. p. of ten to draw, to educate, bring up; hence, properly, ill bred. See Tug, v. t.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Wanton

   won′tun, adj. moving or playing loosely: roving in sport: frisky: wandering from rectitude: licentious: running to excess: unrestrained: irregular.—n. a wanton or lewd person, esp. a female: a trifler.—v.i. to ramble without restraint: to frolic: to play lasciviously.—adv. Wan′tonly.—n. Wan′tonness. [M. E. wantowen, from pfx. wan-, sig. want, A.S. togen, educated, pa.p. of teón, to draw, lead; cf. Ger. ungezogen, rude.]

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. WANTON

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Wanton is ranked #110286 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Wanton surname appeared 160 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Wanton.
   
   75% or 120 total occurrences were Black.
   14.3% or 23 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   6.2% or 10 total occurrences were White.
   3.7% or 6 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

1. • Act
   • Flirt
   • Live
   • Spend
   • Squander

How to pronounce wanton?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say wanton in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of wanton in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of wanton in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of wanton in a Sentence

1. Gabrielle Carteris:

   Donald Trump attacked the values that this union holds most sacred – democracy, truth, respect for our fellow Americans of all races and faiths, and the sanctity of the free press, there’s a straight line from his wanton disregard for the truth to the attacks on journalists perpetrated by his followers.

2. Emmerson Mnangagwa:

   One week ago I announced measures to stabilize our nation's crucial fuel supply. I was aware that these measures may not be popular, and this was not a decision we took lightly. But it was the right thing to do, what followed was regrettable and tragic. Everyone has the right to protest, but this was not a peaceful protest. Wanton violence and cynical destruction ; looting police stations, stealing guns and uniforms ; incitement and threats of violence. This is not the Zimbabwean way.

3. The White House on Sunday:

   This wanton killing of innocents is just the most recent of the many vicious acts perpetrated by ISIL-affiliated terrorists against the people of the region, including the murders of dozens of Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai, which only further galvanizes the international community to unite against ISIL, this heinous act once again underscores the urgent need for a political resolution to the conflict in Libya, the continuation of which only benefits terrorist groups, including ISIL.

4. John Adams:

   [D]emocracy will soon degenerate into an anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man's life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure, and every one of these will soon mould itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all the powers of wealth, beauty, wit and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable cruelty of one or a very few.

5. Governors Association spokesman Chris Gustafson:

   Gretchen Whitmer’s wanton disregard for the rules and transparency surrounding her secret vacation to Florida raises serious ethical concerns for Michiganders and ensure that the turbulence is not far behind her, whitmer’s abuse of a slush fund and possible benefit at taxpayers’ expense will not fly with Michigan voters when they vote to fire the damn governor next fall.

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