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
-
His symptoms include tics and uncontrollable outbursts, which often involve cursing and using expletive language.—
Pamela Avila,
USA Today,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Stress, excitement or tiredness can set off an unwanted, uncontrollable volley of sudden jerky movements and/or a spew of four-letter and other words.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Former president Joseph Kabila, Gertler’s friend and best contact, was sentenced to death in absentia in 2025, after allying himself with the rebel side.—
Nicolas Niarchos,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
-
To give voice to Congolese citizens, Anderson spoke with figures ranging from rebel leaders to medical personnel, from a regional king to an elderly woman tending subsistence crops in a cemetery.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
18 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
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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
-
Here are a few extra tips to get an even deeper clean on your window and door tracks, or how to tackle stubborn mold spots that won't go away.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
-
From eliminating multi-hour furnace cycles in glass manufacturing to reengineering how poorly soluble drugs dissolve in the body, Leonard Siebert is applying materials science to two of engineering’s most stubborn bottlenecks.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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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 2 Mar. 2026.
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