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wanton

/ˈwɑntən/adjective, noun, verb

wanton is spelled W-A-N-T-O-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “wanton vs wonton” about 210 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, wanton means “Lewd, immoral; sexually open, unchaste” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in wanton?

Letters6: W-A-N-T-O-N
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is wanton?

Wanton appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th 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 wanton?

  • UK /ˈwɒntən/
  • US /ˈwɑntən/
  • Australia /ˈwɒntən/

Wanton has 2 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-wanton.ogg, En-au-wanton.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with wanton

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

wanton vs wonton210 G

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of wanton

  • more wanton comparative
  • wantoner comparative
  • most wanton superlative
  • wantonest superlative
  • wantons plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • wantoning participle, present
  • wantoned participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does wanton mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    archaicUndisciplined, unruly; not able to be controlled.

  2. 2

    obsoletePlayful, sportive; merry or carefree.

  3. 3

    Lewd, immoral; sexually open, unchaste.

  4. 4

    Capricious, reckless of morality, justice etc.; acting without regard for the law or the well-being of others; gratuitous.

  5. 5

    archaicExtravagant, unrestrained, excessive.

noun

  1. 1

    A pampered or coddled person.

  2. 2

    An overly playful person; a trifler.

  3. 3

    A self-indulgent person, fond of excess.

  4. 4

    archaicA lewd or immoral person, especially a prostitute.

  5. 5

    wonton (Chinese dumpling)

verb

  1. 1

    To rove and ramble without restraint, rule, or limit; to revel; to play loosely; to frolic.

  2. 2

    To waste or squander, especially in pleasure (most often with away).

    The young man wantoned away his inheritance.

  3. 3

    To act wantonly; to be lewd or lascivious.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Wanton in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchindiscipliné (undisciplined), lascif, lubrique, dévergondé, licencieux (lewd, immoral; sexually open/free), gratuit (capricious, reckless of morals or justice)
Germanwild, unkontrolliert, unbeherrscht, unberechenbar (undisciplined), ausgelassen, leichtfertig (playful, carefree)
Portugueseindisciplinado (undisciplined), devasso, impúdico (lewd, immoral; sexually open/free), fanfarrão, fanfarrona (overly playful person)
Spanishindisciplinado (undisciplined), lascivo, libidinoso, lujurioso (lewd, immoral; sexually open/free), desenfadado, juguetón (playful, carefree)

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 wanton come from?

From Middle English wantoun, wantowen, wantoȝen, wantowe (“uneducated; unrestrained; licentious; sportive; playful”), from wan- (“not, un-, mis-”) + towen, i-towen (“educated”, literally “towed; led; drawn”), from Old English togen, ġetogen, past participle of tēon (“to train, discipline”), equivalent to wan- + towed.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after wanton