unrestrained
Americanadjective
-
not restrained or controlled; uncontrolled or uncontrollable.
the unrestrained birthrate in some countries.
- Synonyms:
- excessive, unbridled, unrepressed, unchecked
-
not constrained; spontaneous.
unrestrained laughter.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unrestrained
First recorded in 1580–90; un- 1 + restrained
Explanation
You know how your uncle Marvin is always screaming at the television when his game shows are on? That’s because he’s being unrestrained. Anyone exhibiting uncontrolled emotion is unrestrained, meaning they don’t hold back. Unrestrained comes from the French restreinte, which means “hold back.” When something is restrained, that thing is confined in some way. Unrestrained means just the opposite. When you’re feeling unrestrained excitement, you might jump up and down, or call all your friends to tell them how you feel. The unrestrained crush you have on the guy in math class might lead you to cover your notebooks with his name written in bubble letters. It happens to the best of us.
Vocabulary lists containing unrestrained
100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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The Secret Garden
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Lessons 2–3
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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.
Unrestrained power, of course, is the president’s raison d’être.
From Salon • Sep. 27, 2025
Unrestrained consumption, technological wizardry and unchecked growth were assaulting the nation’s natural resources.
From Washington Post • Nov. 22, 2022
Unrestrained outbreaks, particularly among immunocompromised people, would give the virus more opportunity to acquire mutations that make it more resilient — in people and in animals.
From Seattle Times • May 26, 2022
Here are some things to expect the next time you attend a four-hour art-school crit: Unrestrained use of words like “ontological.”
From The New Yorker • Mar. 5, 2017
He, verily, is the Ordainer, the Omnipotent, the Unrestrained.
From The Kitáb-i-Aqdas by Bahá'u'lláh
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.
