unruly

[uhn-roo-lee]

adjective

unrulier, unruliest 

1. not submissive or conforming to rule; ungovernable; turbulent; intractable; refractory; lawless.

   an unruly class; an unruly wilderness.

   Synonyms: riotous, disorderly, stubborn, uncontrollable, unmanageable, disobedient

unruly

/ ʌnˈruːlɪ /

adjective

1. disposed to disobedience or indiscipline

Other Word Forms

• unruliness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unruly¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English unruely, equivalent to un- un- ¹ + ruly, ruely “governable, controllable”; rule, -y ¹

Synonym Study

Unruly, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory describe persons or things that resist management or control. Unruly suggests persistently disorderly behavior or character in persons or things: an unruly child, peevish and willful; wild, unruly hair. Intractable suggests in persons a determined resistance to all attempts to guide or direct them, in things a refusal to respond to attempts to shape, improve, or modify them: an intractable social rebel; a seemingly intractable problem in logistics. recalcitrant and refractory imply not only a lack of submissiveness but also an open, often violent, rebellion against authority or direction. Recalcitrant, the stronger of the two terms, suggests a stubborn and absolute noncompliance: a recalcitrant person, openly contemptuous of all authority. Refractory implies active, mulish disobedience, but leaves open the possibility of eventual compliance: refractory students, resisting efforts to interest them in their studies.

Example Sentences

Although police can still use less-lethal weapons to contain unruly demonstrators, the city claimed the rules put officers at risk of hesitating in chaotic situations.

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It was a different tone from the one Rea took Sunday when the BBC asked him about the unruly behavior of fans.

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This efficiency made professional sense, though it had the potential to put a lid on what is usually the most interesting, unruly, moving, unpredictable part of the show.

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Dona Elliott is short, soft-spoken and has wavy brown hair, but she has been known to throw unruly drunks out the front door bodily and by herself.

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As part of the settlement, they must tell all guests that loud and unruly parties are prohibited.

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Related Words

• disorderly 
• drunken 
• fractious 
• impulsive 
• lawless 
• ornery 
• quarrelsome 
• rebellious 
• recalcitrant 
• reckless 
• restive 
• riotous 
• rowdy 
• turbulent 
• uncontrollable 
• unmanageable 
• violent 
• wayward