Standard Lemma guide

ungovernable

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N G AH1 V ER0 N AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not governable; unable to be governed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Unable to be managed or controlled.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a man with an ungovernable temper

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

of persons

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the little boy's parents think he is spirited, but his teacher finds him unruly

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: indocile, uncontrollable, unruly

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English govern Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dhlom Proto-Indo-European *-dhlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English governable English ungovernable From un- + governable.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: необуздан (neobuzdan) — not governable
  • Catalan: ingovernable — not governable
  • Dutch: onbestuurbaar — not governable
  • Esperanto: neregebla — not governable
  • Finnish: hallitsematon — not governable
  • French: ingouvernable — not governable
  • German: unregierbar — not governable
  • Greek: μη κυβερνήσιμος (mi kyvernísimos) — not governable
  • Ancient Greek: ἄσχετος (áskhetos) — not governable
  • Ancient Greek: ἀκάθεκτος (akáthektos) — not governable
  • Italian: ingovernabile — not governable
  • Latin: irregibilis — not governable
  • Polish: nierządny — not governable
  • Polish: nieposkromiony — not governable
  • Portuguese: ingovernável — not governable
  • Spanish: ingobernable — not governable