a large area of land that has never been developed or used for growing crops because it is difficult to live there 未开发的地区；荒无人烟的地区；荒野 The Antarctic is the world's last great wilderness. 南极洲是世界上最后一个大荒原。 - (North American English)
a wilderness area (= one where it is not permitted to build houses or roads) （政府划定的）保留自然环境面貌地区 - (figurative)
the barren wilderness of modern life 现代生活贫瘠的荒漠
Extra ExamplesHe depicted the frontier as a howling wilderness inhabited by uncivilized savages. 在他的描写中，边疆是个荒芜之地，住着一些未开化的野蛮人。 The trail passes through a federally designated wilderness. 这条小路途经联邦政府划定的荒野区。 They set out to explore the continent's last great wilderness. 他们出发去该大陆上最后一块未开发的大荒原探险。 We were hopelessly lost in the wilderness. 我们在荒野中完全迷失了方向。 officially designated wilderness areas and wildlife refuges 官方划定的荒野地区和野生动物保护区 The US Department of Agriculture designated the land a wilderness area in 1978. 1978年美国农业部将这片土地划定为自然环境保留地区。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- last
- great
- vast
- …
- tame
- transform
- explore
- …
- area
- preservation
- protection
- …
- in the wilderness
a place that people do not take care of or control 荒芜的地方；杂草丛生处 Their garden is a wilderness of grass and weeds. 他们的花园杂草丛生。 That part of the city is a wilderness of run-down houses and derelict factories. 该市的那一区域很荒僻，到处是破败的住房和废弃的工厂。 They transformed the wilderness into a garden. 他们把荒地变成了花园。
a position that is no longer important, especially in politics 在野；不再当政（或掌权） the man who brought the party back from the political wilderness 使该党重获执政地位的人 - in the wilderness
After three years in the wilderness she was given a government post. 在荒野中生活了三年后，她被任命为政府官员。 His wilderness years (= when he was out of politics and the public eye) in the 1990s were spent in Canada. 20 世纪 90 年代他在加拿大度过了坐冷板凳的日子。
Word OriginOld English wildēornes ‘land inhabited only by wild animals’, from wild dēor ‘wild deer’ + -ness.