rewilding

plural rewildings

1. uncountableusuallybiologyThe act of restoring a natural area to its former wild state, especially by repopulating it with animals that have been extirpated.

   For rewilding North America, we need to find or restore some of the cogs and wheels we've already tossed into the dust bin.

   2004 July 28, Dave Foreman, Rewilding North America, Island Press, →ISBN, page 134

   2 more examples

   The beaver was hunted to extinction in Britain more than three centuries ago, but is today the rewilding movement’s pin-up.

   2020 October 13, Patrick Barkham, “How maverick rewilders are trying to turn back the tide of extinction”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 18 Feb 2026, retrieved 09 Nov 2020

   There's a colossal amount of tree planting, rewilding and other work going on to ensure that HS2 adds more to the environment than it takes away.

   2022 March 23, Paul Bigland, “HS2 is just 'passing through'”, in RAIL, number 953, page 40

   Antonyms: dewilding, unwilding

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of rewild