海角大神

Is ice cream widely or wildly popular? Does the price of oil fluctuate wildly or widely? These two words are often used interchangeably 鈥� can they actually be synonyms?聽

Merriam-Webster defines widely as 鈥渙ver or through a wide area,鈥� 鈥渢o a great extent,鈥� or 鈥渙ver a broad range.鈥� At its root is the idea of distance. Wildly is 鈥渆xtremely鈥� or 鈥渋n a wild manner,鈥� with wild defined as 鈥渘ot subject to restraint or regulation.鈥� This adverb, then, connotes unpredictability and intensity.

Some sentences clearly demand one word or the other. 鈥淪he is wildly in love鈥� makes sense 鈥� her feelings are passionate and deep. 鈥淪he is widely in love鈥� doesn鈥檛.

At times, both words might seem to be appropriate, and then meanings can get muddled. The price of oil, for example, has varied between $19 a barrel (in聽inflation-adjusted dollars) and $187 in the last 25 years. One could make an argument that the price of oil fluctuates widely, given this difference. But one could also describe it as fluctuating wildly, since the price swings up and down irregularly, sometimes doubling or halving in only one or two months. Whether you choose widely or wildly here depends on what you want to emphasize.

Since around 2000, wildly has been encroaching on the territory of widely. Google鈥檚 Ngram viewer shows that until recently, the phrase widely popular was used much more frequently than wildly popular. In 1997 (in American English) and 2008 (in British English), wildly popular overtook it. Ngrams for widely/wildly different and vary widely/wildly show a similar trend 鈥� the use of widely is decreasing, and wildly increasing. 聽

I would argue that wildly is on the increase partly because wild no longer represents something to be avoided. The Oxford English Dictionary鈥檚 historical definitions of these words are negative: Wildly is 鈥渋rregularly; in disorder or confusion,鈥� 鈥渨ithout moral restraint; dissolutely, licentiously,鈥� and 鈥渨ithout the refinement or orderliness of culture or training.鈥� Wild land was 鈥渨aste, desert, desolate鈥�; a wild person was 鈥渦ncivilized,鈥� 鈥渞ebellious,鈥� or 鈥渢aking one鈥檚 own way in defiance of moral obligation.鈥澛�

In the mid-20th century, however, the meanings flipped. Wild became slang for 鈥渞emarkable, unusual, exciting,鈥� and wildly lost its association with moral or cultural disorder. If you loved someone 鈥渨ildly鈥� in the 18th century, it was a frantic, destructive passion. Today, some people promise to love each other wildly in wedding vows.

Widely may work as well or even better in a given sentence, but it sounds a bit dull, a word for textbooks or business emails. Wildly is more dramatic, and English speakers seem to like that. 聽