wanton
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- unprovoked, arbitrary, gratuitous, groundless, motiveless, needless, senseless, uncalled-for, unjustifiable, wilful
- promiscuous, dissipated, dissolute, immoral, lecherous, libidinous, loose, lustful, shameless, unchaste

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Antonyms: chaste
Contrasted words: austere, puritanical, restrained, self-restrained
Related Idioms: of easy virtue, of loose morals, loose woman
Related Words: lax, slack, wayward, malevolent, malicious, spiteful, contrary, perverse

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

wan‧ton /ˈwɒntən $ ˈwɒːn-, ˈwɑːn-/ adjective
[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: wan- 'wrongly, badly' (from Old English wan 'lacking') + towen, past participle of tee 'to pull, bring up, educate' (11-16 centuries) (from Old English teon)]

1. deliberately harming someone or damaging something for no reason:
an act of wanton aggression
a wanton disregard for life

2. old-fashioned a wanton woman is considered immoral because she has sex with a lot of men

3. formal uncontrolled:
wanton growth
—wantonly adverb
—wantonness noun [uncountable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲