freewheeling
adjective
free·wheel·ing
| \ ˌfrē-ˈhwē-liŋ
, -ˈwē-\
, -ˈwē-\
Definition of freewheeling
: free and loose in form or manner: such as
a
: heedless of social norms or niceties
the raider style of his freewheeling father— Garry Wills
b
: not repressed or restrained
freewheeling promiscuity a freewheeling competitive spirit
c
: not bound by formal rules, procedures, or guidelines
a freewheeling investigation
d
: loose and undisciplined : not defensive
a freewheeling style of hockey
Keep scrolling for more
Examples of freewheeling in a Sentence
She led a freewheeling life in the city.
James Bond has long been the model of the freewheeling hero who encounters danger and excitement in every corner of the globe.
Recent Examples on the Web
The late Peter Fonda heads the cast of director and costar Dennis Hopper’s 1969 counter-culture classic about two motorcycle-riding misfits on a freewheeling odyssey across America; with Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Toni Basil. — Los Angeles Times, "Classic movies in L.A. this week: Peter Fonda in ‘Easy Rider’ and more," 1 Sep. 2019 Although the annual tradition continues at the team’s new TCO Performance Center in Eagan for the second time this year, the freewheeling spirit of the camp’s early days is tough to recreate. — Nick Woltman, Twin Cities, "Five decades of Vikings training camp in pictures," 28 July 2019 The Log from the Sea of Cortez, Steinbeck’s account of the trip, is a high-spirited blend of adventure travel writing, marine science and freewheeling philosophy, shot through with a marvelous sense of wonder at the interconnectedness of the world. — Smithsonian, "John Steinbeck’s Epic Ocean Voyage Rewrote the Rules of Ecology," 22 Aug. 2019 But reports soon began to emerge that Tumblr was floundering financially, as Yahoo tried and failed to wrangle the freewheeling blogging platform into a profitable, advertising-friendly brand. — Aja Romano, Vox, "WordPress could give Tumblr the thing it needs most: stability," 13 Aug. 2019 But that comes with risk for a freewheeling politician with a history of verbal fumbles. — Bill Barrow, The Denver Post, "Biden is still the Democrat to beat, but rivals see weakness," 10 Aug. 2019 That was probably because EU state-aid rules prevented them from bringing in truly freewheeling policies on regulation, tax and labour standards. — The Economist, "What free ports can and can’t achieve," 8 Aug. 2019 Opening act the Doobie Brothers took plenty of solos as well, but in a much more freewheeling manner than Santana. — Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, "Santana celebrates Woodstock at fiery Xcel Energy Center show with assist from the Doobie Brothers," 3 Aug. 2019 Now The pop-cultural era that Tarantino is looking at—a moment when old-fashioned genre heroism was on its way out, and the freewheeling New Hollywood movement was about to arrive—is a very specific one. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "Quentin Tarantino Has Made His Best Movie in a Decade," 24 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'freewheeling.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for freewheeling
freewheeling
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of freewheeling
: free and loose in style or manner : not held back by rules, duties, or worries : not controlled or limited
See the full definition for freewheeling in the English Language Learners Dictionary