wantonly

adverb

Definition of wantonlynext
1
as in recklessly

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2
as in wastefully

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of wantonly But even here, where the damage is being done gleefully and wantonly, the US Congress has stood up to these funding cuts in a bipartisan manner. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 July 2026 Likewise, a circumstance all by itself could be the matter of regulating AI makers about allowing their AI to wantonly provide mental health advice. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wantonly
  1. recklessly
  2. wastefully
  3. heedlessly
  4. indulgently
  5. desperately
  6. comfortably
Adverb
  • On paper, the Republican senator from Missouri’s idea of punishing labs or users who have indeed acted recklessly or negligently while developing or deploying AI systems is a good one.
    — Letters to the Editor, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Individuals who recklessly violate the rules could face as much as 20 years in prison.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of recklessly
Adverb
  • On a pretty dead pitch offering very little to the bowlers, the quartet wastefully surrendered their wickets for all that England deserved credit (particularly Archer) for persistence and a generally probing line after what had been a fairly disastrous start to the day from Carse.
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2025
Definition of wastefully
Adverb
  • Considered from one angle, the movie is superficial and conventional, zipping heedlessly between the characters without fretting about point of view, creating scenes that don’t so much illuminate characters as simply push the story along.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Yet, future relations with Canada will be the bellwether for whether America can recover the critical alliances this administration has heedlessly ripped apart.
    — Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of heedlessly
Adverb
  • Longevity helps; if Picasso hadn’t outlived his Blue Period and Guernica by a long stretch of years, he might be dinted today as indulgently moody.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
  • There are no indulgently long songs—SUSS record in the present perfect.
    — Brian Howe, Pitchfork, 12 May 2026
Definition of indulgently
Adverb
  • Mahomes took a shotgun snap, rolled right to evade pressure and then desperately fired incomplete.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026
  • With the score tied at 1-1, Tunisia was desperately searching for a last-minute winner of their own in the qualification match for the under-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
    — Colin Millar, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of desperately
Adverb
  • The question was how much decoration Chloé‘s promise of easy dressing could comfortably carry.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
  • This is comfortably a record for the opening episode of The Traitors in the UK across both celebrity and civilian versions.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of comfortably

Browse Nearby Words

wanton
wantonly
wantonness
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Cite this Entry

“Wantonly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wantonly. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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