rambunctious
[ram-buhngk-shuh s]
- difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous: a rambunctious child.
- turbulently active and noisy: a social gathering that became rambunctious and out of hand.
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Origin of rambunctious
An Americanism dating back to 1820–30; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rambunctious
Contemporary Examples
Coming in at 1,496,070 likes, the most popular Instagram of the year belongs to that rambunctious singing man-child Justin Bieber.
Was this as a rehabilitation of a man best known for his rambunctious disdain for Arabs, particularly Palestinians?
But Gardner would never have sent one-of-a-kind, fragile plates to the rambunctious little “sprite” of the White House.
He swept into power as a rambunctious, self-styled revolutionary, ending a 40-year drought for House Republicans.
How Newt Gingrich Crashed and Burned When He Was House SpeakerHoward Kurtz, Lois Romano
December 27, 2011
But some parents are embracing the idea that meditation can calm their rambunctious young children.
Historical Examples
She was so strong in the wrists and fingers that she could hold them when they were rambunctious.
The Seven DarlingsGouverneur Morris
Dan hates Injuns, an' he'd sure be rambunctious 'bout this one.
Injun and Whitey to the RescueWilliam S. Hart
Just because I don't like rambunctious play doesn't mean I want to sleep all the time!
Marjorie at SeacoteCarolyn Wells
There seemed to be more than twenty of them; that, though, was due to the flitting movements of their rambunctious forms.
Local ColorIrvin S. Cobb
There had been no cowboys watching the steers, for the corral had always been strong enough to hold the most rambunctious.
Lords of the StratosphereArthur J. Burks
rambunctious
- informal boisterous; unruly
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Word Origin
C19: probably from Icelandic ram- (intensifying prefix) + -bunctious, from bumptious
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for rambunctious
adj.
1859, earlier rumbunctious, 1830, probably altered (by influence of ram) from rumbustious.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper