wilderness

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
wilderness/ˈwɪldənəs/

▶noun

• 1 an uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region.

  ■ a neglected or abandoned area.

• 2 a position of disfavour.

– phrases
a voice in the wilderness an unheeded advocate of reform (see Matt. 3:3 etc.).

– origin OE wildēornes ‘land inhabited only by wild animals’, from wild dēor ‘wild deer’ + -ness.