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Rewild

v. hopeful, resilient professional

What it means

To restore land or ecosystems by allowing native species and natural processes to return.

Reach for it when describing ecological restoration with reduced human control

Farmers rewilded the floodplain while keeping higher fields in production.

Words to choose between 6

By register, from playful at the top to literary at the bottom. Tap a word to see when it fits.
playful
everyday
warm
professional
formal

  • playful

    rewildscape

    Fits when landscape-scale wildness is emphasized

    Careful The coined term is not widely understood.

  • everyday

    let nature return

    Fits when the idea needs plain explanation

    Careful The phrase can understate necessary stewardship.

  • warm

    regenerate

    Fits when living systems renew themselves

    Careful Regeneration may occur in managed land.

  • professional

    reforest

    Fits when trees recreate forest cover

    Careful Rewilding is broader than trees.

  • professional

    restore

    Fits when ecological health is actively recovered

    Careful Restoration can involve intensive management.

  • formal

    renaturalize

    Fits when natural form and processes are reestablished

    Careful The term is technical and less familiar.

Opposites 3

  • domesticate
  • intensively manage
  • degrade

Common phrases 3

  • rewild the landscape

    The partnership will rewild the landscape around the marsh.

  • rewild former farmland

    Native grazers helped rewild former farmland.

  • carefully rewild

    Communities carefully rewild while protecting livelihoods.

Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Knabrupt, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated