rambunctious
Americanadjective
-
difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous.
a rambunctious child.
-
turbulently active and noisy.
a social gathering that became rambunctious and out of hand.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- rambunctiously adverb
- rambunctiousness noun
Etymology
Origin of rambunctious
An Americanism dating back to 1820–30; origin uncertain
Explanation
Rambunctious means "noisy and out of control," like a rambunctious child who is so hard to handle that no babysitter has ever come back a second time. People who are rambunctious, pronounced "ram-BUNK-shus," can be fun — to a point. Laughing a little too loudly, or too often, seems refreshing at first — so what if people sitting at other tables have started to look over? But after a while, rambunctious behavior makes you feel tired. You never know when the high energy of the rambunctious is going to cross over to obnoxiousness, when things will spill, feelings get hurt, and apologies need to be made.
Vocabulary lists containing rambunctious
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Jim Whittaker was a rambunctious young boy in Seattle, his mother often ordered him and his twin brother to go outside and play, allowing her some peace.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
When I asked what time the neighbors we invited over for Thanksgiving wanted to come, they just informed me that their 4-year-old is too rambunctious to sit still for dinner.
From Salon • Nov. 26, 2025
The rambunctious Milei is maturing politically, UBS’ Czerwonko observes, “making efforts to appear more empathetic.”
From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025
The Scot was also put off by a rambunctious fan behind the baseline - who was initially loudly supporting him before switching to root for Bautista Agut.
From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025
They’re rambunctious, they’re full of beans; they’re tough as thirteen, they’re innocent and dirty, they don’t give a hoot.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
