wild child
Rebellious free spirit
A wild child is a young person who behaves in an unrestrained, rebellious, or unconventional way—rejecting rules and social expectations in favor of impulsive or hedonistic behavior: She was a wild child in her twenties, always out partying.
The term can carry admiration for free-spiritedness or concern about recklessness.
It also refers to feral children raised without human contact, though this sense is rarer.
Openly resisting control
- troublemakerOne who creates discord
- unrulyDifficult to control
- disobedientRefusing to follow orders
- waywardStubbornly self-willed
headstrong · renegade · mischief-maker · provocative · insubordinate · contrary · recalcitrant · impudent
Excessively energetic, easily distracted
- rambunctiousUncontrollably lively and loud
- boisterousNoisily cheerful and energetic
- exuberantIntensely lively and cheerful
- high-spiritedFull of lively energy
lively · animated · spirited · bubbly · rowdy · vivacious · bouncy · frolicsome
Free from anxiety
- spontaneousArising without external cause
- uninhibitedFree from self-censorship
- bohemianArtistic nonconformist type
- whimsicalPlayfully fanciful or erratic
dreamer · impulsive · liberated · unconventional · hippie · artistic · soulful · unfettered
Reckless risk-taker
- thrill-seekerOne who pursues excitement
- risk-takerOne who courts peril
- explorerOne who investigates unfamiliar regions
- fearlessLacking any apprehension
bold · audacious · reckless · intrepid · death-defying · gutsy · plucky · daring
Wild after domestication
- undomesticatedNot bred for captivity
- uncivilizedLacking social graces
- savageFierce and untamed
- primitiveIn earliest form
raw · instinctual · animalistic · natural · unbridled · unrestrained · unbroken · rough
defiant
Openly resisting control
- troublemakerOne who creates discord
- unrulyDifficult to control
- disobedientRefusing to follow orders
wayward · headstrong · renegade · mischief-maker · provocative · insubordinate · contrary · recalcitrant · impudent · spirited
hyperactive
Excessively energetic, easily distracted
- rambunctiousUncontrollably lively and loud
- boisterousNoisily cheerful and energetic
- exuberantIntensely lively and cheerful
high-spirited · lively · animated · spirited · bubbly · rowdy · vivacious · bouncy · frolicsome · effervescent
carefree
Free from anxiety
- spontaneousArising without external cause
- uninhibitedFree from self-censorship
- bohemianArtistic nonconformist type
whimsical · dreamer · impulsive · liberated · unconventional · hippie · artistic · soulful · unfettered · wanderer
daredevil
Reckless risk-taker
- thrill-seekerOne who pursues excitement
- risk-takerOne who courts peril
- explorerOne who investigates unfamiliar regions
fearless · bold · audacious · reckless · intrepid · death-defying · gutsy · plucky · daring · venturesome
feral
Wild after domestication
- undomesticatedNot bred for captivity
- uncivilizedLacking social graces
- savageFierce and untamed
primitive · raw · instinctual · animalistic · natural · unbridled · unrestrained · unbroken · rough · rugged
- rhyming pairscat hat, true blue, old gold, sweet treat, boy toy
- boys in filmcoming-of-age, boyhood, young hero, street kids, newsboys
- hyperactivityfidgeting, hyper, restlessness, fidgety, restless
- Rascalsrascal, imp, scamp, scallywag, scalawag
- troublemakerstroublemaker, rascals, delinquents, imps, brats
- bad boysrebel, rogue, troublemaker, delinquent, rascal
wild childconformist
One following accepted norms
goody two-shoes · teacher's pet · straight arrow · good girl · good boy
wild childold soul
Person inexplicably mature
wallflower · shrinking violet · timid soul · introvert · quiet type
wild childpillar of society
Esteemed, upstanding community member
insider · golden child · favorite son · poster child · preppy
wild, child, children, childish, childhood, wildly, wilderness, wilds, childbirth