uncontrollable
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of uncontrollable
Explanation
Uncontrollable things can't be managed or influenced. An uncontrollable three-year-old can be a handful, while a politician with an uncontrollable desire for power can be dangerous. If you fly off the handle at the smallest irritation, snapping angrily at the people around you, you have an uncontrollable temper. And when you and your best friend burst into giggles in the middle of chemistry class, it's uncontrollable laughter that's going to get you in trouble. When something is controllable, it can be restricted or restrained. Add the "not" prefix un-, and you've got something uncontrollable.
Vocabulary lists containing uncontrollable
"Tinker v. Des Moines": Excerpts from Justice Black's Dissenting Opinion
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"Fear" and "Violence Hits Home"
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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.
This is especially evident in the Season 2 special, “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas.”
From New York Times • Dec. 16, 2022
"I yelped. Uncontrollable screams, the sort you hear on a rugby field. The adrenaline kicked in, and I knew I needed an ambulance. The next three hours without painkillers were not too fun."
From BBC • Oct. 3, 2022
Uncontrollable infernos that have torched about half a million hectares and displaced more than 100,000 people have made this the worst wildfire year yet for California.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 19, 2017
BW: Uncontrollable sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, the urge to rub my eyes constantly, and in doing that the eyes becoming bloodshot … extreme.
From The Guardian • Sep. 30, 2016
Uncontrollable gusts of grief would, not unfrequently, still pass over our young man.
From The Virginians by Thackeray, William Makepeace
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.
