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wandering

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
wan·der  (wndr)
v. wan·dered, wan·der·ing, wan·ders
v.intr.
1. To move about without a definite destination or purpose.
2. To go by an indirect route or at no set pace; amble: wander toward town.
3. To proceed in an irregular course; meander.
4. To go astray: wander from the path of righteousness.
5. To lose clarity or coherence of thought or expression.
v.tr.
To wander across or through: wander the forests and fields.
n.
The act or an instance of wandering; a stroll.

[Middle English wanderen, from Old English wandrian.]

wander·er n.
wander·ing·ly adv.
Synonyms: wander, ramble, roam, rove1, range, meander, stray, gallivant, gad1
These verbs mean to move about at random or without destination or purpose. Wander and ramble stress the absence of a fixed course or goal: wandered down the hall lost in thought. "They would go off together, rambling along the river" (John Galsworthy).
Roam and rove emphasize freedom of movement, often over a wide area: "Herds of horses and cattle roamed at will over the plain" (George W. Cable). "For ten long years I roved about, living first in one capital, then another" (Charlotte Brontë).
Range suggests wandering in all directions: "a large hunting party known to be ranging the prairie" (Francis Parkman).
Meander suggests leisurely wandering over an irregular or winding course: "He meandered to and fro . . . observing the manners and customs of Hillport society" (Arnold Bennett).
Stray refers to deviation from a proper course: "I ask pardon, I am straying from the question" (Oliver Goldsmith).
Gallivant refers to wandering in search of pleasure: gallivanted all over the city during our visit.
Gad suggests restlessness: gadded about unaccompanied in foreign places.

Wandering of tinkers—Lipton.
wandering
  • evagation - Means mental wandering or digression, also a digression in speech or writing.
  • mundivagant - Means "wandering around the world."
  • vagation - The action of wandering, straying, or departing from the proper or regular course.
  • wanderjahr - Literally German for "wander year," it refers to a year of wandering or travel.
  • ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
    Noun1.wandering - travelling about without any clear destinationwandering - travelling about without any clear destination; "she followed him in his wanderings and looked after him"
    travel, traveling, travelling - the act of going from one place to another; "he enjoyed selling but he hated the travel"
    drifting - aimless wandering from place to place
    Adj.1.wandering - migratory; "a restless mobile society"; "the nomadic habits of the Bedouins"; "believed the profession of a peregrine typist would have a happy future"; "wandering tribes"
    unsettled - not settled or established; "an unsettled lifestyle"
    2.wandering - of a path e.g.wandering - of a path e.g.; "meandering streams"; "rambling forest paths"; "the river followed its wandering course"; "a winding country road"
    indirect - not direct in spatial dimension; not leading by a straight line or course to a destination; "sometimes taking an indirect path saves time"; "you must take an indirect course in sailing"
    3.wandering - having no fixed course; "an erratic comet"; "his life followed a wandering course"; "a planetary vagabond"
    unsettled - not settled or established; "an unsettled lifestyle"

    wandering
    Translations
    wandering [ˈwɒndərɪŋ] ADJ [person] → errante; [tribe] → nómada, errante; [minstrel] → itinerante; [path, river] → sinuoso; [eyes, mind] → distraído
    he suffers from wandering hands (hum) → es un sobón
    wandering [ˈwɒndərɪŋ] adj
    [tribe] → nomade
    [minstrel, actor] → ambulant(e)
    wandering
    adj tribesman, refugeesumherziehend; minstrelfahrend; thoughts(ab)schweifend; gazeschweifend; pathgewunden; the old man’s wandering minddie wirren Gedanken des Alten; to have wandering hands (hum)seine Finger nicht bei sich (dat)behalten können; the Wandering Jewder Ewige Jude
    wandering [ˈwɒndrɪŋ]
    1. adj (tribe) → nomade; (minstrel, actor) → girovago/a; (path, river) → tortuoso/a; (mind) → distratto/a
    2. wanderings nplperegrinazioni fpl, vagabondaggi mpl


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Not seldom that long wandering unfits us for further travel, and of what use is our experience to us then?
To prevent my wandering away I don't know where--for I begin to be sensible that I have just come back, and that I shall lose myself again--do so, dear boy
It seemed as if hardly any of the preceding stories had thrown such an interest around Grandfather's chair as did the fact that the poor, persecuted, wandering Quaker woman had rested in it for a moment.
 
 
 
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