1
as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
a handful of ungovernable students are disrupting the learning environment for everyone else
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uncontrollable
given to resisting control or discipline by others
resigned to the fact that my cat is basically is an ungovernable beast with a will of his own
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ungovernable
Narrative has a seemingly relentless, ungovernable momentum, but humans retain a control over war stories that does not extend to war itself.
—
Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
For more than a century, people have wondered if the city is ungovernable; with the exception of Fiorello La Guardia, who had New Deal money raining down on him, every idealistic leader who has been elected mayor has left City Hall in some way battered by it.
—Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
The gamble backfired and his centrist bloc lost seats to the far right and far left, leaving France with a divided National Assembly and effectively ungovernable.
—Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, the ocean itself plays its ungovernable part.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungovernable
Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
For more than a century, people have wondered if the city is ungovernable; with the exception of Fiorello La Guardia, who had New Deal money raining down on him, every idealistic leader who has been elected mayor has left City Hall in some way battered by it.
—Eric Lach, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
The gamble backfired and his centrist bloc lost seats to the far right and far left, leaving France with a divided National Assembly and effectively ungovernable.
—Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, the ocean itself plays its ungovernable part.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for ungovernable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungovernable
Adjective
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Enter rebellious wild child Violet with the solution.—
Christina Grace Tucker,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
-
The nurturing Moon in your 11th House of Charity uplifts rebellious Uranus, potentially sparking surprising invites or plan shifts.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Davidson has coprolalia—uncontrollable obscene speech—hence the pun in the title of the film.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Overcoming uncontrollable metal ion migration To overcome the problem of uncontrollable metal ion migration, the team proposed a new mechanism that leverages interfacial phase equilibrium.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The Rebel Loon Project, which uses a a version of the rebel loon logo shared online as available for free use, has heard from supporters of other MLS teams.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Mrie’s memoir is a useful primer, if hardly the last word, on the complexities of the civil war and the shortcomings of the rebel forces.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Workers said that the pressure of daily visitor flows — particularly around the Mona Lisa — had become unmanageable and that promised reforms were arriving too slowly.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
The strikers complained of unmanageable workloads and accused the hospitals of trying to chip away at health benefits.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
If some of the Penguins were upset by the news, Rust was simply defiant.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
-
In recent days, the president has remained defiant on the issue, lashing out at the justices for delivering a legal setback on his tariffs, and looking to impose new global tariffs in a different way.—
Ana Ceballos
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
In business, this same perseverance can be invaluable when navigating competitive and fluctuating markets, stubborn problems or enduring long timelines that don’t pay immediate dividends but for which the rewards are worth the wait.—
Paul Fitzgerald,
Rolling Stone,
3 Mar. 2026
-
For stubborn black spots, make a paste using baking soda and a small amount of water.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For example, 1975’s Welfare carefully documents the hoops that working people had to jump through to obtain welfare benefits at New York’s Waverly Welfare Center, representing the government as an intractable and unfeeling force.—
Vikram Murthi,
The Atlantic,
22 Feb. 2026
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The weekend ended with an entertaining display of the sort of effort that’s been absent for so long from the annual exhibition, and while these two things aren’t necessarily related, Sunday’s showcase suggests that even the league’s seemingly most intractable flaws might be remediable.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Local, state and federal law enforcement surged to the area and have spent over three weeks scouring the unruly desert landscape for Guthrie or any evidence that could bring her back home.—
Randi Kaye,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
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Trimming can be done more often for light touch-ups during the growing season to keep unruly plants in check, remove leggy growth, and maintain shape as the plant grows.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
22 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ungovernable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungovernable. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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