wildly

wildly — adverb

1. acting or happening without control or restraint, often with strong emotion or s

1.adverbB1
Definition

acting or happening without control or restraint, often with strong emotion or sudden movement

Example

The crowd cheered wildly when the home team scored the winning goal.

collocation: cheered wildly (audience reaction)

Lakan's heart beat wildly as he waited for the exam results.

collocation: heart beats wildly (emotional intensity)

Common collocations
  • cheer wildly
  • applaud wildly
  • wave wildly
  • beat wildly
  • swing wildly
  • run wildly
  • grow wildly
Synonyms
  • frantically

    more urgent and panicked; implies desperation (e.g., searched frantically)

  • recklessly

    adds an element of danger or disregard for consequences (e.g., drove recklessly)

  • uncontrollably

    focuses on the inability to stop (e.g., laughed uncontrollably)

  • violently

    includes physical force, often implying harm (e.g., shook violently)

Antonyms
  • calmly

    in a quiet, controlled manner (e.g., spoke calmly)

  • gently

    with soft, mild movement (e.g., pushed the door gently)

Grammar Patterns

verb + wildly

wildly + verb (less common)

Usage Note

Commonly pairs with verbs of physical motion (swing, wave, run, sway) and emotional or physiological reaction (beat, cheer, shout, applaud). The adverb usually comes after the verb it modifies.

Common Mistakes

She wildly walked to the store.
She ran wildly through the store.
wildly suggests energetic lack of control, not just ordinary movement like walking.
He danced wildly beautiful.
He danced wildly.' or 'He danced beautifully.
wildly modifies the action itself; use a separate adverb like 'beautifully' for the manner.

2. to a very large degree — used before adjectives and some verbs to mean 'very muc

2.adverbB1
Definition

to a very large degree — used before adjectives and some verbs to mean 'very much' or 'a lot'

Example

Camila's new job is wildly different from her old one at the hospital.

wildly + adjective: different (strong contrast)

The film was wildly successful and broke several box‑office records.

wildly + adjective: successful (used for positive outcomes)

Common collocations
  • wildly different
  • wildly successful
  • wildly excited
  • wildly inaccurate
  • wildly optimistic
  • wildly expensive
  • wildly popular
Synonyms
  • extremely

    neutral and the most common intensifier (e.g., extremely difficult)

  • incredibly

    informal, emphasises surprise (e.g., incredibly cheap)

  • ridiculously

    informal, often with negative connotation (e.g., ridiculously expensive)

Antonyms
  • slightly

    to a small degree (e.g., slightly different)

  • moderately

    within reasonable limits (e.g., moderately successful)

Grammar Patterns

wildly + adjective

Usage Note

Almost always intensifies adjectives (different, successful, excited, inaccurate, optimistic). Less common with verbs — when used with verbs, it tends toward sense 1 (uncontrolled behavior).

Common Mistakes

The soup was wildly hot.' (sounds like the soup is jumping around).
The soup was extremely hot.
use wildly with adjectives that describe degree or quality, not physical temperature.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All four alternatives express a lack of control, but each adds a distinct flavour. Frantically emphasises urgent panic driven by a pressing need — someone who has lost their keys searches frantically, not just wildly. Recklessly adds a conscious disregard for danger or consequences, such as driving recklessly through a storm. Uncontrollably focuses on the inability to stop the action or emotion, like laughing uncontrollably at a joke. Violently suggests physical force that may cause harm, as in shaking violently from fever. Wildly is the broadest term: a crowd cheering wildly is excited and energetic, not necessarily dangerous or panicked. Use wildly when you want the general idea of unrestrained energy without narrowing the emotion.

franticallyrecklessly ↗uncontrollably ↗violently ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Wildly is formed from the adjective wild (from Old English wilde, meaning 'untamed, uncontrolled') and the common adverb‑forming suffix ‑ly. The word has been in use since the 13th century to describe uncontrolled physical action; its intensifying sense (as in wildly successful) developed around the 19th century as a figurative extension.