astray

A1S1T1R1A1Y4
US/əˈstɹeɪ/

adverb

Away from the proper path; in a wrong or unknown direction.

Similar
wide
OriginMiddle English astraien ← Old French estraier ← Medieval Latin extravagari →
Less commonScrabble 9
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok
Word of the Day · Dec 25, 2023

Meanings

adverb
  1. Away from the proper path; in a wrong or unknown direction.

    Go, set the storm-winds free, / And sink their ships or scatter them astray, / And strew their corpses forth, to weltering waves a prey.

    1907, Virgil, “1.X”, in Edward Fairfax Taylor, transl., The Æneid of Virgil, London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
  2. Away from what is right and good; into error or evil.

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbfar from the intended target

Similar
wide
Also see
wide

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinextra“beyond”
  2. Medieval Latinextravagari“to wander beyond”
  3. Old Frenchestraier“to stray”
  4. Middle Englishastraien
  5. Englishastray

From Middle English astraien or by apheresis straien, from Old French estraier (“to stray”), from late Medieval Latin extravagari (“to wander beyond”), from Latin extra (“beyond”) + vagārī (“to wander, stray”).

More words from Middle English, Old French, Medieval Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بِضَلَال, عَلَى ضَلَال
  • بِضَلَال (biḍalāl)in a wrong direction
  • عَلَى ضَلَال (ʕalā ḍalāl)in a wrong direction
  • ضَالًّا (ḍāllan)in a wrong direction
Catalan desencaminadament
  • desencaminadamentin a wrong direction
Chinese Mandarin 迷途地
  • 迷途地in a wrong direction
Czech s cesty, na scestí
  • s cestyin a wrong direction
  • na scestíin a wrong direction
Danish på afveje, på vildspor
  • på afvejein a wrong direction
  • på vildsporin a wrong direction
Dutch op een dwaalspoor
  • op een dwaalspoorin a wrong direction
Finnish harhaan
  • harhaanin a wrong direction
German in die Irre
  • in die Irrein a wrong direction
Icelandic villtur
  • villturin a wrong direction
Indonesian tersesat, tersasar
  • tersesatin a wrong direction
  • tersasarin a wrong direction
Irish ar seachrán
  • ar seachránin a wrong direction
Italian fuori dalla retta via, sviato
  • fuori dalla retta viain a wrong direction
  • sviatoin a wrong direction
  • fuori stradain a wrong direction
  • traviatoin a wrong direction
Japanese 道に迷って
  • 道に迷ってin a wrong direction
Latin errāns, pālāns
  • errānsin a wrong direction
  • pālānsin a wrong direction
Russian заблуди́вшись, сби́вшись с пути́
  • заблуди́вшись (zabludívšisʹ)in a wrong direction
  • сби́вшись с пути́ (sbívšisʹ s putí)in a wrong direction
Scottish Gaelic air seachran, air iomrall
  • air seachranin a wrong direction
  • air iomrallin a wrong direction
Spanish perdido, extraviado
  • perdidoin a wrong direction
  • extraviadoin a wrong direction
Swedish vilse, på villovägar
  • vilsein a wrong direction
  • på villovägarin a wrong direction
Turkish kötü/yanlış yola
  • kötü/yanlış yolain a wrong direction

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with astray

amaymedayrewaytodaykjlasayplayzpayawaydisplaystaybayoksurveyleDJraylingerie
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Straya
Cite this entry
APA

astray. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/astray

MLA

“astray.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/astray. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “astray,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/astray.

Source: astray on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.