unruly
English · Thesaurus
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unruly
- /ʌnˈɹuːli/
Rhymes with -uːli
Where it comes from
From Middle English unruly (“unquiet, restless”), equivalent to un- + rule + -ly (compare Middle English ruly, reuli (“subject to a religious rule, regular”)), but also representing a modified continuation of earlier Middle English unrouly, unroly (“unquiet, restless”), equivalent to un- + roolie. The latter is perhaps from or influenced by Old Norse *úróligr, related to Danish urolig (“restless”), Swedish orolig (“restless”), Icelandic órólegur (“agitated”). Compare also Middle English unroo, unro (“unrest”). More at roo.
adjective unrulier · unruliest
- Wild; uncontrolled. The police gathered to contain the unruly mob.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: disorderly, rambunctious, rumbustious, robustious, boisterous, insubordinate, uncontrollable, unmanageable, indocile, disobedient, ungovernable, messy, troublesome, angry, cumbersome, disruptive
Translations
Every language
adj wild
| Español | revoltoso, descontrolado, incontrolable, díscolo |
|---|---|
| Português | descontrolado, desgovernado |
| Français | désobéissant, incontrôlable, indiscipliné |
| Deutsch | unbändig, wild, widerspenstig, undiszipliniert, aufsässig |
| Română | nesupus, neascultător |
| Русский | неконтроли́руемый nekontrolírujemyj, непослу́шный neposlúšnyj |
| العربية | مُتَوَحِّش mutawaḥḥiš, خارج عن السيطرَة |
Talk about this word "unruly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/unruly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. unruly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/unruly "unruly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/unruly.Cite this
@misc{unruly_2026,
title = {unruly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/unruly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
