wider

See also: wider-

English

Etymology

From Middle English widder, widdur, widere, from Old English widdra; equivalent to wide +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪdɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪdə/
• Rhymes: -aɪdə(ɹ)

Adjective

wider

1. comparative form of wide: more wide

Adverb

wider

1. comparative form of wide: more wide

Anagrams

• Dwire, WEIRD, weird, weïrd, wierd, wired, wride, wried

German

Etymology

From Middle High German wider, from Old High German widar, from Proto-Germanic *wiþrą (“against, toward”). The same word as wieder (“again”) with artificial orthographic distinction. Hence cognate with Dutch weer, English wither.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈviːdər/, [ˈviːdɐ], [ˈʋiːdɐ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: wieder

Preposition

wider (+ accusative)

1. (formal, literary) against

   Synonym: gegen

   Kain, der erste Rebell wider den autoritären Vater-Gott.

   Cain, the first to rebel against the authoritarian father God.

Usage notes

• In contemporary German, wider is found in compounds (see wider-) and otherwise mainly in a few set phrases. Due to its rarity it is sometimes hypercorrectly construed with the genitive case; thus instead of wider besseres Wissen (“against one's better knowledge”) one will sometimes read or hear wider besseren Wissens.

Derived terms

• wider besseres Wissen
• wider Erwarten

Further reading

• “wider” in Duden online
• “wider” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache