wild

Compared meaning: out of control, not restrained (adjective).

比较义项：失控的、不受约束的（形容词）。

• wild 本词

  Describes animals, plants or people that are untamed by nature or undisciplined by upbringing — not something that broke free, but something never controlled to begin with; common with animals and nature.

  描述天生未被驯化、或未受教养约束的动物、植物或人，强调的不是“原本受控后来挣脱”，而是“从一开始就未被约束”；常用于动物和自然事物。

  Wild horses still roam freely across parts of that western valley.

  野马仍然在那片西部山谷的部分地区自由地游荡。

• rampant

  Describes something harmful — disease, crime, corruption — spreading fast and widely until it is hard to stop; used almost only with negative abstract nouns, usually as a predicate adjective.

  描述疾病、犯罪、腐败等有害事物迅速而广泛地蔓延、难以遏制；几乎只与负面的抽象名词搭配，通常作表语形容词使用。

  Corruption remains rampant among local officials despite the new anti-bribery laws.

  尽管有了新的反贿赂法律，当地官员中的腐败仍然十分猖獗。

• runaway

  Describes something that has physically or figuratively broken free from control, such as an escaped vehicle or animal, or a process that suddenly speeds up out of control; usually placed before the noun.

  描述某事物从控制或束缚中挣脱，比如失控的车辆或动物，或者突然加速失控的过程；通常放在名词之前作定语。

  The runaway train sped down the tracks with no one at the controls.

  那列失控的火车在无人操控的情况下沿铁轨疾驰而下。

• uncontrollable

  The strongest and most general term: completely impossible to control or stop, used for emotions, physical reactions, fires or events, without implying anything about nature, spreading or escape.

  语气最强、适用范围最广的词：表示完全无法控制或停止，常用于情绪、生理反应、火势或事件，不涉及天生、蔓延或挣脱的含义。

  The toddler burst into uncontrollable giggles during the quiet ceremony.

  那个小孩在安静的仪式上突然发出无法控制的咯咯笑声。

Wild, rampant, runaway, and uncontrollable all describe something out of control. Wild means never tamed. Rampant means harmful things spreading fast, like disease or crime. Runaway means broken free from control, like a vehicle. Uncontrollable is strongest, meaning impossible to control, for emotions.

这四个词都能表达“失控、不受约束”的含义，但语气和搭配不同：wild强调天生未被驯化，rampant强调负面事物蔓延失控，runaway强调挣脱束缚或突然加速，uncontrollable语气最强，泛指完全无法控制。这里不比较runaway表示“畅销的、非常成功的”（如runaway success）的用法，也不比较wild表示“狂热的、兴奋的”（如have a wild time）的用法。

Compared meaning: an undeveloped, natural area of land (noun).

比较义项：未开发的荒野、自然地带（名词）。

• wilderness

  More formal and literary; names the land or region itself as a large, remote, undeveloped area, often emphasizing its vastness (e.g. 'an Arctic wilderness').

  更正式、更书面化；用来指代那片土地或地区本身，是一大片偏远、未开发的区域，常强调其广袤（例如 an Arctic wilderness）。

  The Alaskan wilderness stretches for hundreds of miles without a single road.

  阿拉斯加的荒野绵延数百英里，连一条公路都没有。

• wild 本词

  Informal; almost always appears as 'the wild' (or 'the wilds'), usually describing the natural habitat where animals live free from captivity, rather than the land itself.

  较为口语化；几乎总是以 the wild（或 the wilds）的形式出现，通常用来描述动物摆脱圈养、生活其中的自然环境，而不是指土地本身。

  These days, tigers are rarely spotted in the wild.

  如今，老虎在野外已很少被发现。

Wilderness and wild can both mean an undeveloped, natural area, but differ in tone. Wilderness is more formal, naming the land itself as a large, remote, undeveloped area. Wild is informal, almost always as 'the wild', describing the natural habitat where animals live free.

这两个词都可以指人迹罕至、未经开发的自然地区，但语气和用法略有不同：wilderness 更正式、书面化，强调地域的广袤与荒凉；wild 更口语化，几乎总以 the wild（或 the wilds）的形式出现，常用来指动物脱离人工饲养后所处的自然环境。这里只比较“荒野”这一义项。