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wander

   Also found in: Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.11 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.

wander
Verb
1. to walk about in a place without any definite purpose or destination
2. (often foll. by off)to leave a place where one is supposed to stay: kids wander off
3. (of the mind) to lose concentration
Noun
the act or an instance of wandering [Old English wandrian]
wanderer n
wandering adjn
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.wanderwander - move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"; "They rolled from town to town"
go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"
maunder - wander aimlessly
gad, gallivant, jazz around - wander aimlessly in search of pleasure
drift, err, stray - wander from a direct course or at random; "The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her"; "don't drift from the set course"
wander - go via an indirect route or at no set pace; "After dinner, we wandered into town"
2.wanderwander - be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage; "She cheats on her husband"; "Might her husband be wandering?"
cozen, deceive, delude, lead on - be false to; be dishonest with
two-time - carry on a romantic relationship with two people at the same time
play around, fool around - commit adultery; "he plays around a lot"
3.wander - go via an indirect route or at no set pace; "After dinner, we wandered into town"
rove, stray, roam, vagabond, wander, swan, ramble, range, drift, tramp, cast, roll - move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"; "They rolled from town to town"
meander, thread, wind, wander, weave - to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course; "the river winds through the hills"; "the path meanders through the vineyards"; "sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body"
go forward, proceed, continue - move ahead; travel onward in time or space; "We proceeded towards Washington"; "She continued in the direction of the hills"; "We are moving ahead in time now"
4.wanderwander - to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course; "the river winds through the hills"; "the path meanders through the vineyards"; "sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body"
go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"
snake - move along a winding path; "The army snaked through the jungle"
wander - go via an indirect route or at no set pace; "After dinner, we wandered into town"
5.wander - lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking; "She always digresses when telling a story"; "her mind wanders"; "Don't digress when you give a lecture"
tell - let something be known; "Tell them that you will be late"

wander
verb 1. roam, walk, drift, stroll, range, cruise, stray, ramble, prowl, meander, rove, straggle, traipse (informal) mooch around (slang) stravaig Scot., Northern English (dialect) knock about or around, peregrinate
wander off stray, roam, go astray, lose your way, drift, depart, rove, straggle
wander off something deviate, diverge, veer, swerve, digress, go off at a tangent, go off course, lapse
Translations
wander [ˈwɔndəʳ] vi [person] → vagar; deambular; [thoughts] → divagar (= get lost); extraviarse

wander [ˈwɔndəʳ] vi [person] → errer, aller sans but; [thoughts] → vagabonder; [river] → serpenter
vterrer dans

wander [ˈwɔndəʳ] vi [person] → herumlaufen; [mind, thoughts] → wandern
vt [+ the streets, the hills etc] → durchstreifen

wander [ˈwɔndəʳ] vi [person] → girare senza meta, girovagare; [thoughts] → vagare; [river] → serpeggiare

wander
v wander [ˈwondə]
1 to go, move, walk etc (about, in or on) from place to place with no definite destination in mind I'd like to spend a holiday wandering through France; The mother wandered the streets looking for her child. drentel يَتَجَوَّل скитам се toulat se; bloudit vandre omkring ziehen περιπλανιέμαι, τριγυρίζω recorrer; vagar, errar; pasearse sin propósito rändama, hulkuma سرگردان بودن vaeltaa errer (dans) לְשוֹטֵט घूमना lutati kószál mengembara ráfa, flækjast vagare, errare 歩き回る (...을) 배회하다, 막연히 걸어가다 klajoti/keliauti po klejot; klīst; ceļot mengembara, merantau dwalen vandre, streife omkring włóczyć się (po) percorrer a ră­tă­ci, a cutreiera, a hoinări бродить túlať sa; blúdiť potikati se lutati vandra (irra, ströva) omkring เดินไปโดยไม่มีจุดหมายที่แน่นอน dolaşmak, dolanıp durmak 彷徨 блукати; мандрувати ادھر اُدھر پھرنا đi lang thang 彷徨
2 to go astray or move away from the proper place or home His mind wanders; My attention was wandering. aflei يَهيم، يَشْرُد отклонявам се bloudit flakke abschweifen ξεστρατίζω, αφαιρούμαι extraviarse; divagar, viajar uitama منحرف شدن harhailla (s')égarer לִסטוֹת आवारागर्दी करना lutati elkalandozik melayang-layang reika, vera á reiki vagare さ迷う 방랑하다, 떠돌다 nuklysti, klejoti aizklīst; novirzīties; aizmaldīties melayang-layang dwalen komme bort/ avveier błądzić divagar rătăci блуждать blúdiť (za)bloditi lutati gå vilse, komma bort, [] vandra ออกนอกเส้นทาง kaymak, dağılmak 岔道 блукати موضوع سے ہٹ جانا lơ đễnh
n
an act of wandering He's gone for a wander round the shops. drenteling تَجْوال، تَطْواف скитане toulka slentretur das Herumziehen περιπλάνηση vuelta, paseo ringkäik, tiir سرگرداني kuljeskelu tour שִיטוּט आवारागर्दी lutanje vándorlás pengembaraan göngutúr giro ぶらつき 배회, 방랑 klajojimas, keliavimas klaiņojums; klejojums; ceļojums merayau-rayau wandeling streif, tur przechadzka passeio tur прогулка túlanie, prechádzka pohajkovanje lutanje vandring, strövtåg การเดินเล่นอย่างไร้จุดหมาย dolanma 閑逛 мандрівка, мандри مٹر گشتی sự lang thang
n wanderer
drentelaar مُتَجَوِّل،هائِم، تائِه скитник tulák, -čka vandrer; vandringsmand der/die Wanderer(in) περιπλανώμενος trotamundos; nómada; vagabundo rändaja سرگردان vaeltaja vagabond/-onde נוֹדֵד आवारागर्दी करने वाला lutalac vándor(ló), csavargó pengembara ferðalangur vagabondo, girovago 放浪者 헤매는 사람, 방랑자 keliauninkas klejotājs; ceļotājs pengembara, perantau zwerver vandrer, fotturist wędrowiec viajante pribeag; călător странник tulák, -čka popotnik brez cilja lutalica vandrare, vandringsman ผู้ท่องเที่ยวไปโดยไร้จุดหมาย amaçsız gezip duran kimse 彷徨者 мандрівник بے مقصد پھرنے والا người đi lang thang 彷徨者
n wanderlust
the wish to travel He's always travelling – his wanderlust will never be satisfied. reisgier شَهْوَة السَّفَر страст към пътешествията cestovní vášeň rejselyst die Wanderslust λαχτάρα για ταξίδια pasión por viajar, ver mundo ansia de rännukirg عشق سفر vaellusvietti passion du voyage תַאֲווָת נדוּדִים सैर-सपाटे की लालसा jaka želja za putovanjem (lutanjem) mehetnék keinginan bepergian útþrá, ferðaþrá (desiderio di viaggiare) 旅心 여행열, 방랑벽 kelionių aistra ceļošanas prieks keinginan untuk mengembara atau merantau reislust reiselyst zamiłowanie do włóczęgi gosto de viajar pasiunea de a călători страсть к путешествиям záľuba v cestovaní veselje do potovanja žudnja za putovanjima reslust, vandringslust ความต้องการที่จะเดินทางไป; ความปรารถนาที่จะเดินทาง seyehat/yolculuk tutkusu 旅行癖 любов до подорожей سیاحت کا شوق sở thích du lịch 旅行


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
I must wander, wander, wander--restless, sleepless, homeless--till I find
"My dear sir," said the Distinguished Advocate of Republican Institutions, without removing his eyes from the horizon, "you wander away into the strangest irrelevancies
The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation.
 
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