1
as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
the barbaric wantonness with which the guards treated the prisoners of war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grossness
the quality or state of being obscene
novels characterized chiefly by their sheer wantonness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wantonness
Noun
-
Kyle Vigneault, 27, faces charges of first-degree manslaughter, risk of injury to a child and cruelty to persons, according to the Norwalk Police Department.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
13 Feb. 2025 -
Instead, her countenance is ambiguous — stern, perhaps capable of cruelty, but not without a hint of kindness, as viewers have told him.—
Cody Cottier,
Discover Magazine,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Spanning from the 2014 Maidan Revolution to spring 2024, their story blends the glamour of drag with the brutality of war.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
10 Feb. 2025
-
The President has had a complicated history with the NFL, after criticizing players who kneeled during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial injustice during his first administration.—
Simmone Shah,
TIME,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Even those Republicans who are wary of his volatile leadership style, penchant for vulgarity and willingness to violate conservative orthodoxies are generally reluctant to air those criticisms publicly.—
Mike Lillis,
The Hill,
21 Dec. 2024
-
Corbet’s awkward forcing of his characters into his conceptual framework leads to absurdities and vulgarities—not least in the depiction of László’s first and only Black acquaintance, a laborer named Gordon (Isaach De Bankolé), as a heroin addict.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
3 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The house, formerly inhabited by Russian soldiers, exhibited the obscenities of forceful dispossession.—
C.J. Chivers Robert Fass Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak,
New York Times,
31 Dec. 2024
-
Naked Lunch was banned in Boston and Los Angeles under obscenity statutes.—
Ira Silverberg,
Vulture,
27 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
Over-Nite Sensation is a triumph: a concentrated digest from perhaps the most popular stretch of his career, and a freeze-frame of his compositional flowering and ingenious lyrical ribaldry.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
The Atlantic,
27 Nov. 2023
-
Finding liberty in punk artistry, Dury updated the tradition of British music-hall ribaldry and rude folk humor.—
Armond White,
National Review,
3 Aug. 2022
Noun
-
Previously, rubidium was often seen as an impurity that needed to be removed from a lithium deposit.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
11 Feb. 2025
-
According to a safety sheet from Delta College - University Center, AJAX cleaning products contain small amounts of crystalline silica, a naturally occurring impurity in calcium carbonate.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
8 Feb. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Wantonness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wantonness. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share