Meaning & use

unruly

adjective·Academic

Disorderly and difficult to control, discipline, or manage.

See it in a sentence

The teacher struggled to quiet the unruly classroom after recess.

Airline staff removed the unruly passenger after repeated warnings.

A note on using this word

Unruly can describe people, crowds, or even physical things like hair that resists being controlled or styled.

Words with a similar meaning

disobedientunmanageablerowdy

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

obedientorderly

Make it your own

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