Unruly

Definition: Unruly

Unruly

Adjective

1. Noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline; "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".

2. Unwilling to submit to authority; "unruly teenagers".

3. Of persons; "the little boy's parents think he is spirited, but his teacher finds him unruly".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "unruly" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1350. (references)

Note: Unruly \Un*rul"y\, adjective. [Comparative Unrulier, superl. Unruliest.]. (references)

Synonyms: Unruly

Disobedience

Adjective: disobedient; uncomplying, uncompliant; unsubmissive, unruly, ungovernable; breachy, insubordinate, impatient of control, incorrigible; restiff, restive; refractory, contumacious, recusant; (refuse); recalcitrant; resisting; lawless, mutinous, seditions, insurgent, riotous.

Obstinacy

Willful, self-willed, perverse; resty, restive, restiff; pervicacious, wayward, refractory, unruly; heady, headstrong; entete; contumacious; crossgrained.

Violence

Excited; Verb: unquelled, unquenched, unextinguished, unrepressed, unbridled, unruly; headstrong, ungovernable, unappeasable, immitigable, unmitigable; uncontrollable, incontrollable; insuppressible, irrepressible; orgastic, orgasmatic, orgasmic.

Crosswords: Unruly

I wanna grow something wild and unruly (Cowboy Take Me Away; performing artist: Dixie Chicks)

How a Strange Hero Thrice Teased an Unruly Girl (1968)

An Unruly Charge (1911)

Unruly Slaves 2 (1995)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• As She Likes It: Shakespeare's Unruly Women (Gender and Performance) (reference)

• Collecting: An Unruly Passion (Harvest Book) (reference)

• Fielding's Unruly Novels (Salzburg English & American Studies, 31.) (reference)

• Rock & Roll: An Unruly History (reference)

• The Creative Habit: Rules and Rituals for an Unruly Mind (reference)

  (more book examples)

Music

• Wild & Wooley Big Unruly (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The unruly calf. Credit: Library of Congress.

Drunken soldiers tied up for fighting and other unruly conduct. Credit: Library of Congress.

Blacksmith removing shoe from horse. The rope to hold up the hoof is necessary when shoeing an unruly horse. Forest County, Wisconsin. Lumber camp. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

The young patient may become nervous, anxious, and unruly. (references)

Moreover, its use as a means of managing unruly patients, for whom other treatments were not then available, contributed to the perception of ECT as an abusive instrument of behavioral control for patients in mental institutions for the chronically ill. With the introduction of effective psychopharmacologic medications and the development of judicial and regulatory restrictions, the use of ECT has waned. (references)

Civil Liberties

Papua New Guinea

Police assert that they fear violence from unruly spectators and rarely give approval. (references)

Djibouti

On October 10, police used tear gas to disperse a demonstration of unruly high school students; there were no reports of injuries. (references)

Economic History

France

Chirac and Juppe benefited from a very large, if rather unruly, majority in the National Assembly (470 out of 577 seats). (references)

Human Rights

South Africa

Police reported that Nhlapho was part of an unruly mob, members of which were throwing stones and bottles at members of the unit as they attempted to arrest another man in the neighborhood. (references)

Minorities

Malaysia

Senior UMNO officials have warned non-Malays against "playing with fire." In August 2000, a group of youth members of UMNO became unruly at a rally held outside a Chinese assembly hall in the wake of public comments by a Chinese association that allegedly questioned the granting of special rights and privileges for Malays. (references)

Political Rights

Zambia

Police detained some unruly MMD supporters; the Government reportedly transferred some of the police officers to remote duty stations following the detentions. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "unruly": become unruly ♦ unruly conduct. Additional references.

Albanian

i pashtruar (implacable, insubordinate, perverse, rebellious, restive, unlaid, unsubmissive, wild), i padisiplinuar (disorderly, undisciplined). (various references)

Arabic 

‏حرون (balky, obstinate, rebellious, recalcitrant, restive, stubborn, sullen), ‏عنيد (adamant, asinine, contrary, coriaceous, die hard, dogged, dour, fractious, hardheaded, headstrong, heady, implacable, incorrigible, inelastic, inexorable, inflexible, intractable, intransigent, inveterate, irreconcilable, mulish, nagging, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, ornery, peevish, persevering, pertinacious, perverse, piggish, pigheaded, refractory, rigid, scabrous, scratchy, self willed, stiff, stiff necked, stout, stubborn, sullen, tenacious, thwart, uncompromising, unwilling, unyielding, wilful, willful, wrongheaded), ‏عاصف (boisterous, dirty, gusty, inclement, rough, squally, stormy, surging, tempestuous, thunderous, torricellian, tumultuous, wild, winded, windy, wintry), ‏صعب المراس (awkward, churlish, indocile, intractable, problem, sticky, ungainly, ungovernable, untoward, wayward), ‏جامح (headstrong, inordinate, mad, madcap, raving, stubborn, wild, wilful). (various references)

Bulgarian 

непокорен (contumacious, disaffected, disobedient, disorderly, indocile, insubordinate, rambunctious, recalcitrant, refractory, repugnant, restive, tumultuous, unbowed, uncontrollable, undutiful, unfilial, unsubdued, unsubmissive, untoward, wayward), буен (bacchanalian, blustery, catchy, ebullient, exuberant, furious, gross, high-spirited, hot, hot-blooded, hot-brained, hotheaded, impetuous, incandescent, jazz, jazzy, knockabout, lively, lush, luxuriant, obstreperous, opulent, phrenetic, prancing, profuse, proud, puffy, puppyish, rambunctious, rampant, rank, riotous, roaring, rough, rough and tumble, rousing, rude, rumbustious, spicy, spirited, sweeping, thick, torrential, tumultuous, turbulent, unchecked, ungovernable, untamed, vigorous, violent, wanton, zizzi). (various references)

Chinese 

难驾驭, 調皮 (mischievous, naughty), 獗 (rude), 橫 (across, horizontal), 不羈 (uninhibited). (various references)

Czech

vzpurný (contumacious, defiant, disorderly, insubordinate, rebellious, recalcitrant, restive), rozpustilý (boisterous, hoity toity, impish, mischievous, naughty, ribald, wanton), rozcuchaný (disheveled, dishevelled, straggly, unkempt, untidy, wind swept), neposlušný (disobedient, insubordinate, rebellious), nepoddajný (hard, intractable, obdurate, unwieldy, unyielding), divoký (boisterous, feral, ferine, ferocious, fierce, gone wild, obstreperous, truculent, uncivilized, untamed, wild, wildcat). (various references)

Farsi 

یاغی (Brigand, Lawbreaker, Malcontent, Mutinous, Outlaw, Rebel, Turbulent), متمرد (Disobedient, Insurgent, Intractable, Lawbreaker, Malcontent, Malignant, Outlaw, Rebel, Rebellious, Recalcitrant, Recusant, Wayward), متلاطم (Heavy, Lumpy, Turbulent), مضطرب (Panicky, Uneasy, Vexatious), سرکش (Disobedient, Indomitable, Inelastic, Insubordinate, Irrepressible, Malcontent, Malignant, Naughty, Random, Rebel, Rebellious, Recalcitrant, Refractory, Restive, Rowdy, Turbulent, Undaunted, Unyielding, Wanton). (various references)

Finnish

vallaton (undisciplined, ungovernable), raju (ungovernable, vehement, violent), pahankurinen (mischievous), kuriton (undisciplined, unmanageable), hillitön (ummanageable, unchecked, uncontrollable, ungovernable, unrestrained, wild). (various references)

French

turbulent, insoumis, indiscipliné (uncontrollable, undisciplined), effréné (unbridled, unrestrained), disgracieux (ungainly, unhandsome, unsightly). (various references)

German

ungebärdig (obstreperous, skittish, unrulily), unbändig (boisterous, enormous, irrepressible, lawless, licentious, riotous, unbridled, unchecked, uncontrollable, ungovernable, ungovernably, unrestrained, wild), wiederspenstig. (various references)

Greek 

άτακτοσ (anomalous, fractious, haywire, irregular, mischievous, naughty, snatchy, straggly, tough), ανυπότακτοσ (contumacious, insubordinate, maverick, rebellious, recusant, refractory). (various references)

Hebrew 

שאין לשלוט בו, פרוע (chaotic, disorderly, rampant, rank, riotous, tumultuous, turbulent, wild), �"ולל (licentious, mirthful, profligate, rake, rakish). (various references)

Hungarian

rakoncátlan (madcap, naughty). (various references)

Italian

tumultuoso (rowdy, turbulent, uproarious), sfrenato (dissolute, unbridled, uncontrolled, unrestrained, wanton, wild), indisciplinato (obstreperous, undisciplined, ungovernable), disattento (careless, heedless, inadvertent, inattentive, inobservant, listless, unobservant). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

駻馬 (bronco, unruly horse), 悍馬 (bronco, unruly horse). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

か�"ば (a sweating horse, bronco, unruly horse). (various references)

Manx

jeh chash (undisciplined, undisciplined as child, wild). (various references)

Pig Latin

ulyunray.(various references)

Portuguese

rebelde (contumacious, fractious, insubordinate, insurgent, insurrectionist, intractable, obstinate, obstreperous, rebel, rebellious, recalcitrant, reluctant, restive, unamenable, unsubmissive), insubmisso (rambunctious, refractory, ungovernable, unsubmissive), indisciplinado (insubordinate, rambunctious, recalcitrant, turbulent, undisciplined, ungovernable, unschooled), fogoso (ardent, burning, dashing, fiery, frisky, hot, hot-blooded, hot-brained, hot-headed, hotspur, hot-tempered, impetuous, mettled, mettlesome, proud, proud-spirited), difícil de dominar, desobediente (disobedient, naughty, recalcitrant, wayward). (various references)

Romanian

sãlbatic (barbarous, bloodthirsty, brutal, brutish, cruel, feral, ferine, ferocious, fierce, fiery, haggard, harsh, impetuous, inhuman, inhumanly, rugged, sanguinary, savage, shaggy, tameless, truculent, uncivilized, uncouth, uncouthly, uncultivated, uncultured, ungovernable, unsociable, violent, wild, wild man), obraznic (audacious, bad, barefaced, bold, boldly, brazenly, cheekily, cheeky, cocky, contemptuous, cool, disobedient, flippant, forward, fresh, graceless, impertinent, impudent, insolent, nasty, naughty, nervy, obtrusive, perky, pert, pertly, presumptuous, provocative, rebellious, sauce box, saucy, untoward, uppish), nesupus (contumacious, disobedient, insubordinate, intractable, rebellious, repugnant), nebun (bad, bedlamite, bishop, brain sick, cracked, crazy, daft, delirious, demented, demoniac, distracted, distraught, extravagant, fool, foolish, frantic, frenzied, infatuated, insane, lunatic, mad, mad about, madcap, madman, maniac, maniacial, moon-struck, potty, raving, reckless, wild), neascultãtor (contumacious, disobedient, errant, indocile, naughty, obstreperous, repugnant), indisciplinat, gãlãgios (blatant, blustering, brawler, clamant, clamorous, loud, noisy, rampageous, Randy, rattling, rioter, riotous, rip roaring, roisterer, rowdy, vociferous), destrãbãlat (debauched, debauchee, dissipated, dissolute, lewd, libertine, lickerish, liquorish, loose, profligate, rake, reinless, reprobate), desfrânat (abandoned, bad, debauched, dissipated, dissolute, incontinent, lewd, lickerish, lustful, man of pleasure, meretricious, profligate, raffish, rake, rakish, reinless, reprobate, reveller, ribald, rioter, riotous, rip, ruttish, salacious, unchaste, unrestrained, wanton, whoremaster). (various references)

Russian 

непокорный (contumacious, disobedient, indocile, insubordinate, lawless, rambunctious, recalcitrant, ungovernable, unsubmissive). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

tršav, nestašan (be naughty, frisky, kittenish, mischievous, puckish, restless, rogue), neposlušan (contumacious, disobedient, insubordinate, recalcitrant), buntovan (insurgent, insurrectional, insurrectionary, mutinous, obstreperous, rebellious, revolting, riotous, seditious). (various references)

Spanish

turbulento (disorderly, mutinous, obstreperous, restless, squally, stirring, troubled, troublous, turbulent, wild), revuelto (churned, fumbling, higgledy-piggledy, scrambled, troubled, turned), revoltoso (balky, boisterous, disorderly, mischief maker, naughty, rebellious, recalcitrant, rioter), indomable (indomitable, tameless), indócil (indocile, indomitable, untoward), incidentado (riotous), desatento (discourteous, heedless, regardless, unobservant), díscolo (fractious, rebellious). (various references)

Swedish

ostyrig (ferocious, rompish, rowdy, savage, unmanageable, wild), oregerlig (disorderly, fractious, obstreperous, out of hand, uncontrollable, ungovernable, unmanageable, wild). (various references)

Turkish

serkeş (disobedient, disorderly, fractious, Froward, rebellious, rounder, strongheaded, wanton, wild), ele avuca sığmaz (greasy, impracticable, obstreperous, out of hand, rompy, uncontrollable, unmanageable), azılı (fierce, ingrained), asi (beat, contumacious, disobedient, insubordinate, insurgent, insurrectional, insurrectionary, insurrectionist, mugwump, mutineer, mutinous, rebel, rebellious, rioter, seditious, ungovernable, unsubmissive, wayward). (various references)

Turkmen 

tertipsiz (undisciplined). (various references)

Ukrainian

шалений (amok, amuck, boisterous, dithyrambic, ecstatic, fierce, frantic, frenzied, lunatic, mad, outrageous, pelting, stormy, vehement, wild), непокірний (defiant, insubordinate, lawless, recalcitrant, refractory, unsubmissive, untoward). (various references)

Vietnamese 

ngỗ ngược. (various references)

Welsh

direol (disorderly), annosbarthus (disorderly), afreolus (disorderly). (various references)

neglegens, neglegentia, turbidam, turbido, turbulentus. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Misspellings

"Unruly" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Nurullo, unpubl, unrely, unrole, unrolly, urly. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-2 letters: luny, nurl, ruly.

-3 letters: run, ulu, urn.

-4 letters: nu, un.

+1 letter: untruly.

+2 letters: unsurely.

+3 letters: ruinously, sublunary.

+4 letters: mournfully, numerously, truculency, turbulency, unarguably, unchurchly, undulatory.

+5 letters: avuncularly, congruously, incuriously, injuriously, luxuriantly, penuriously, strenuously, superlunary, truculently, turbulently, undersupply, unendurably, unguardedly, unhurriedly, unnaturally, unutterably, venturously.