wit-wanton

A form of witwanton — One who indulges in idle, foolish, and irreverent fancies or speculations; one who tries to be cleverly amusing but falls short.

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Meanings

nounwit-wanton (plural wit-wantons)

plural wit-wantons

  1. alternativeAlternative form of witwanton.

    All Epicures, Wit-wantons, Atheiſts,[…]

    1613, Iosuah Sylvester, transl., Du Bartas: His Diuine Weekes and Workes with a Compleate Collection of All the Other Most Delight-full Workes, London: […] Robert Young, translation of original by [Guillaume de Salluste] Du Bartas, published 1633, page 584
    2 more examples

    And how dangerous it is for wit-wanton men to dance with their nice distinctions, on such mystical precipices, where slips in jest may cause deadly downfalls in earnest,[…]

    1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church History of Britain from the Birth of Jesus Christ until the Year MDCXLVIII, volume III, London: […] Thomas Tegg and Son, […]; R. Griffin and Co., […]; Tegg and Co., […]: Also, J. and S. A. Tegg, […], published 1837, page 251

    Word-warriors and wit-wantons would waste their breath upon one whose book-hunger has won him so rich a meed,[…]

    1855 September, “English, Past and Present”, in Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country, volume LII, number CCCIX, page 345
Cite this entry
APA

wit-wanton. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wit-wanton

MLA

“wit-wanton.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wit-wanton. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wit-wanton,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wit-wanton.

Source: wit-wanton on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.