unruly
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
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.
Other Word Forms
- unruliness noun
Etymology
Origin of unruly
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English unruely, equivalent to un- un- 1 + ruly, ruely “governable, controllable”; rule, -y 1
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.
Associated noise-related issues range from unruly crowds to honking horns in overcrowded parking lots.
From Barron's
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.
From Los Angeles Times
The judgement was delivered after Kanu had been forcibly removed from the courtroom for unruly behaviour.
From BBC
“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.
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.
From Literature
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.
