unruly

[ uhn-roo-lee ]

adjective

, un·ru·li·er, un·ru·li·est.

1. not submissive or conforming to rule; ungovernable; turbulent; intractable; refractory; lawless:

   an unruly class; an unruly wilderness.

   Synonyms: unmanageable, riotous, disorderly, stubborn, uncontrollable, disobedient

unruly

/ ʌnˈruːlɪ /

adjective

1. disposed to disobedience or indiscipline

Derived Forms

• unˈruliness, noun

Other Words From

• un·ruli·ness 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.

Related Words

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