UNRULINESS Synonyms: 64 Similar and Opposite Words

unruliness

noun

Definition of unruliness

as in rebellion

refusal to obey frustrated by the boys' unruliness, the lifeguard asked them to leave the pool

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Recent Examples of unruliness Conservative pundits may have wanted Anne to be a model orphan, but that desire just threw her unruliness into sharper relief. — Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026 Katseye doesn’t seem to get in as much trouble as K-pop idols have in the past for swearing; a patina of unruliness has endeared the group to its followers. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026 In 2024, Buffett offered prescient reflections on the unruliness of the market, long before the prediction markets began to sway Wall Street. — Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026 In Olga Tokarczuk’s work, knowing how to pick mushrooms—organisms open to unruliness and interconnection and resistant to easy labeling—is a sign of good character. — Christopher Tayler, The New York Review of Books, 2 Oct. 2025 Any unruliness was saved for the sketches. — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025 Bateman commits to his character’s wiry unruliness and makes Vince into a self-destructive twit, which is probably by intent. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unruliness

Noun

During the Sengoku period, clan leader Isshin Ashina leads a successful rebellion against the rulers to secure Ashina’s independence.

— Aman Kumar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
According to a recent paper by the French Institute of International Relations, the SAF and its supporters claim to be putting down an armed rebellion as Sudan’s legitimate government.

— Mat Nashed, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of rebellion

Noun

Since then, mayoral defiance of the legal obligations to enforce the council’s budget has left the city financially short of that modest projection.

— Joe Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
That defiance underscores the central gamble of Washington’s strategy.

— Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of defiance

Noun

Whether writing five decades ago or today, the genre’s most insightful commentators have always observed how punk fuses rebelliousness with commodification, capitalism with resistance.

— Kyle Devine, Longreads, 14 July 2026
Marji’s rebelliousness, both admirable and terrifying for those who love her, is her salient characteristic.

— Hillary Chute, The Atlantic, 9 June 2026

Definition of rebelliousness

Noun

Those leaders who ignore or flout the law aren’t merely unethical but fatally arrogant, putting their childish willfulness over the wisdom of generations.

— David Brooks, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Though the Durutti Column had been a disaster, Wilson was fascinated by the guitarist, who admired punk’s willfulness even though his own musical taste tended toward jazz, blues, and the classical tradition.

— Brad Shoup, Pitchfork, 24 Jan. 2026

Definition of willfulness

Noun

The public weighted plain disrespect – how people are treated, apart from the economics – significantly more heavily than the philosophers did.

— ESMT Berlin, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
In the millions upon millions of words written and said about this World Cup, who has shown disrespect to players from Haiti, or any other smaller nation?

— Nick Miller, New York Times, 27 July 2026

Definition of disrespect

Browse Nearby Words

unruled

unruliness

unruly

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“Unruliness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unruliness. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of unruliness

noun

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