Standard Lemma guide

unruly

adj · 4 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.

  • /ʌnˈɹuːli/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːli
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N R UW1 L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Wild; uncontrolled.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The police gathered to contain the unruly mob.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

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, ungovernable

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a boisterous crowd
  • a social gathering that became rambunctious and out of hand
  • a robustious group of teenagers
  • beneath the rumbustious surface of his paintings is sympathy for the vulnerability of ordinary human beings
  • an unruly class

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: boisterous, rambunctious, robustious, rumbustious

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

unwilling to submit to authority

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unruly teenagers

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: disobedient

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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.

Across languages

Translations

57 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُتَوَحِّش (mutawaḥḥiš) — wild
  • Arabic: خارج عن السيطرَة — wild
  • Armenian: սանձարձակ (sanjarjak) — wild
  • Bulgarian: непокорен (nepokoren) — wild
  • Bulgarian: недисциплиниран (nediscipliniran) — wild
  • Czech: neukázněný — wild
  • Czech: nezvladatelný — wild
  • Czech: vzpurný — wild
  • Czech: divoký — wild
  • Czech: nepoddajný — wild
  • Finnish: kuriton — wild
  • French: désobéissant — wild
  • French: incontrôlable — wild
  • French: indiscipliné — wild
  • German: unbändig — wild
  • German: wild — wild
  • German: widerspenstig — wild
  • German: undiszipliniert — wild
  • German: aufsässig — wild
  • Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐌲𐌰𐍄𐌰𐍃𐍃 (ungatass) — wild
  • Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐍄𐌰𐌻𐍃 (untals) — wild
  • Irish: aimhleasta — wild
  • Irish: ainrianta — wild
  • Irish: amhsach — wild
  • Irish: díchoiscthe — wild
  • Irish: dochoiscthe — wild
  • Irish: doriartha — wild
  • Irish: dosmachtaithe — wild
  • Irish: feillbhéasach — wild
  • Irish: míréireach — wild
  • Irish: mírialta — wild
  • Irish: místiúrtha — wild
  • Irish: oilbhéasach — wild
  • Macedonian: бу́ен (búen) — wild
  • Macedonian: бу́нтовен (búntoven) — wild
  • Macedonian: непо́корен (nepókoren) — wild
  • Macedonian: непо́слушен (nepóslušen) — wild
  • Ottoman Turkish: آزغین (azgın) — wild
  • Persian: سرکش (sarkeš) — wild
  • Persian: نافرمان (nâfarmân) — wild
  • Polish: niesforny — wild
  • Polish: nieposłuszny — wild
  • Portuguese: descontrolado — wild
  • Portuguese: desgovernado — wild
  • Romanian: nesupus — wild
  • Romanian: neascultător — wild
  • Russian: неконтроли́руемый (nekontrolírujemyj) — wild
  • Russian: непослу́шный (neposlúšnyj) — wild
  • Spanish: revoltoso — wild
  • Spanish: descontrolado — wild
  • Spanish: incontrolable — wild
  • Spanish: díscolo — wild
  • Ukrainian: бу́йний (bújnyj) — wild
  • Ukrainian: неслухня́ний (nesluxnjányj) — wild
  • Ukrainian: бунтівни́й (buntivnýj) — wild
  • Ukrainian: неконтрольо́ваний (nekontrolʹóvanyj) — wild
  • Ukrainian: непокі́рний (nepokírnyj) — wild