Astray Meaning
/əˈstɹeɪ/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
advAway from the proper path; in a wrong or unknown direction.
advAway from what is right and good; into error or evil.
Sentence Examples
We went astray in the woods.
I have gone astray somewhere in my calculations.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The faulty map led the hikers ____ deep into the dangerous and remote wilderness.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young sheep had gone ____ and was wandering far from the flock.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English astraien or by apheresis straien, from Old French estraier (“to stray”), from late Medieval Latin extravagari (“to wander beyond”), from Latin extra (“beyond”) + vagārī (“to wander, stray”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Go, set the storm-winds free, / And sink their ships or scatter them astray, / And strew their corpses forth, to weltering waves a prey."
— 1907, Virgil, “1.X”, in Edward Fairfax Taylor, transl., The Æneid of Virgil, London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The faulty map led the hikers ____ deep into the dangerous and remote wilderness.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The young sheep had gone ____ and was wandering far from the flock.