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

An analysis of DOT data confirms the rise in incidents since the COVID-19 pandemic, when conflicts over wearing masks boosted the number of reports of unruly passengers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The judgement was delivered after Kanu had been forcibly removed from the courtroom for unruly behaviour.

Read more on BBC

After noting conditions consistent with overcrowding and heavy alcohol consumption, authorities issued a civil notice violation relating to public nuisances involving loud and unruly gatherings.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“When neighborhoods are plagued by issues such as aggressive panhandling, unruly street vending, public urination, abandoned vehicles, it gives the impression of an unsafe community,” she said in January.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Her pony-scented pigtails had been replaced to great advantage with Simon’s own unruly shock of hair, which tumbled quite naturally over her—his—intelligent forehead.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

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