Meanings
wild west1
Wild West2
alternative wild West · alternative wild west
- historicalThe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement, commonly believed to be lawless and unruly.
plural Wild Wests · alternative wild West · alternative wild west
- broadlyfigurativelyA place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails, especially due to a lack of regulatory oversight or an inadequate legal system.
In the Wild West of “influencer” marketing, there are few protections and plenty of easy marks.
2018 November 16, Taylor Lorenz, “How Hackers Are Stealing High-Profile Instagram Accounts”, in The Atlantic, retrieved 29 May 20233 more examples
There were earlier Wild Wests too, of course, before the one that gave up gunplay for legal finagling.
1996, Michael L. Johnson, New Westers, The West in Contemporary American Culture, page 10But apart from the Irish appreciation of creative criminality and outlawry's close association with wild wests, simply read again the title of Patrick Ford's newspaper: the Irish World and American Industrial Liberator.
2010, David M. Emmons, Beyond the American Pale, The Irish in the West, 1845–1910, page 296In the wild west of the Internet, states have been reluctant to work together for this common purpose. One example of closer state coordination came in 2011 at the London Conference on Cyberspace […]
2012, Peter M. Haas, John A. Hird, Controversies in Globalization: Contending Approaches to International Relations, page 229
Synonyms & antonyms
Translations
Afrikaans Wilde Weste
- Wilde Westethe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Catalan Far West
- Far Westthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Chinese Mandarin 舊西部 /旧西部
- 舊西部 /旧西部 (Jiùxībù)the western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Danish det vilde vesten
- det vilde vestena place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
Dutch Wilde Westen, Wilde Westen
- Wilde Westenthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- Wilde Westena place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
Esperanto Sovaĝa Okcidento, Malnova Okcidento
- Sovaĝa Okcidentothe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- Malnova Okcidentothe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- Fora Okcidentothe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Finnish Villi länsi, villi länsi
- Villi länsithe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- villi länsia place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
French Far West, far west
- Far Westthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- far westa place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
- bordela place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
- cirquea place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
- foutoira place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
German Wilder Westen
- Wilder Westenthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Greek Άγρια Δύση
- Άγρια Δύση (Ágria Dýsi)the western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Hungarian Vadnyugat, vadnyugat
- Vadnyugatthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- vadnyugata place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
Indonesian Barat Jauh, tanah biadab
- Barat Jauhthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- tanah biadaba place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
Italian Far West
- Far Westthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Norwegian Bokmål villvest
- villvesta place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
Polish Dziki Zachód, Dziki Zachód
- Dziki Zachódthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- Dziki Zachóda place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
Portuguese Velho Oeste, faroeste
- Velho Oestethe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- faroestea place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
Romanian Vestul Sălbatic
- Vestul Sălbaticthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Russian Ди́кий За́пад
- Ди́кий За́пад (Díkij Západ)the western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Spanish Lejano Oeste
- Lejano Oestethe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Swedish vilda västern, vilda västern
- vilda västernthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
- vilda västerna place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
- High Chaparrala place or situation in which disorderly behavior prevails
Turkish Vahşi Batı
- Vahşi Batıthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Ukrainian Ди́кий За́хід
- Ди́кий За́хід (Dýkyj Záxid)the western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Vietnamese Viễn Tây
- Viễn Tâythe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Welsh Gorllewin Gwyllt
- Gorllewin Gwylltthe western United States during the 19th-century era of settlement
Cite this entry
wild west. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wild%20west
“wild west.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wild%20west. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wild west,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wild%20west.
Source: wild west on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.