n.
- an uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region.
▸a neglected or abandoned area.
- a position of disfavour.
Phrase
- a voice in the wilderness
an unheeded advocate of reform (see Matt. 3:3 etc.).
Etymology
OE wildēornes ‘land inhabited only by wild animals’, from wild dēor ‘wild deer’ + -ness.