wandering
/ˈwɑndəɹɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
wandering is spelled W-A-N-D-E-R-I-N-G: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, wandering means “Which wanders; travelling from place to place” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in wandering?
| Letters | 9: W-A-N-D-E-R-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.3 times per million words; the 9,594th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is wandering?
Wandering appears 6.3 times per million words in written English, the 9,594th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wandering?
- US /ˈwɑndəɹɪŋ/
- UK /ˈwɒndəɹɪŋ/
Wandering has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wandering.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wandering
- wanderings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wandering mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Which wanders; travelling from place to place.
- 2
Abnormally capable of moving in certain directions.
a wandering kidney; a wandering liver
noun
- 1
Travelling without preset route; roaming.
- 2
Irregular turning of the eyes.
- 3
Aimless thought.
- 4
Straying from a desired path.
- 5
Disordered speech or delirium.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of wander
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wandering in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | errante, vagante |
| Spanish | errabundo, andariego, errante, peripatético |
| French | errement, errance , divagation |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wandering come from?
From wander + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).