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wilderness definition

wil·der·ness (wil′dər nis)

noun

  1. an uncultivated, uninhabited region; waste; wild
  2. any barren, empty, or open area, as of ocean
  3. a large, confused mass or tangle
  4. Obsolete a wild condition or quality

Etymology: ME wildernesse < wilderne, wild place (< OE wilddeor, wild animal < wilde, wild + deor, animal, deer) + -nesse, -ness

Wilderness definition

Wil·der·ness (wil′dər nis)

woodland region in NE Va., south of the Rapidan River: scene of a Civil War battle (May, 1864) between the armies of Grant and Lee

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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