ungovernable
Impossible to manage
Ungovernable describes someone or something that cannot be controlled, restrained, or brought under authority.
A child might be ungovernable if no discipline or guidance seems to work.
An ungovernable temper flares without restraint.
The word often appears in political contexts to describe populations, regions, or situations that resist centralized control: The province had become essentially ungovernable after the collapse.
It suggests not merely difficulty but near impossibility in establishing order.
Difficult to control
- unmanageableImpossible to control
- waywardStubbornly self-willed
- out of controlUnable to be restrained
- uncheckedNot controlled or limited
unbridled · untamable · unrestrained · unconstrained · wild · rampant · runaway · spiraling
Refusing to change course
- obstinateFirmly refusing to yield
- headstrongStubbornly self-willed
- willfulIntentionally unyielding
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
recalcitrant · intractable · obdurate · uncooperative · noncompliant · contrary · refractory · contumacious
One who revolts
- mutinousDisposed to revolt
- defiantOpenly resisting control
- insubordinateDefying rightful authority
- seditiousInciting rebellion against state
revolutionary · subversive · dissident · resistant · disobedient · recalcitrant · renegade · insurrectionary
Wild after domestication
- untamedNot domesticated
- savageFierce and untamed
- primalFirst in origin
- uncivilizedLacking social graces
barbaric · lawless · frontier · untameable · animalistic · raw · unbroken · undomesticated
Disorder from absent authority
- turmoilViolent disturbance or confusion
- pandemoniumState of utter confusion
- bedlamState of wild disorder
- mayhemViolent disorder and destruction
havoc · tumult · disorder · upheaval · riot · frenzy · unrest · lawlessness
Impossible to defeat
- invincibleIncapable of being defeated
- irrepressibleUnable to be restrained
- unbreakableImpossible to damage
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
unquenchable · undefeatable · insurmountable · relentless · fierce · inextinguishable
unruly
Difficult to control
- unmanageableImpossible to control
- waywardStubbornly self-willed
- out of controlUnable to be restrained
unchecked · unbridled · untamable · unrestrained · unconstrained · wild · rampant · runaway · spiraling · beyond control
stubborn
Refusing to change course
- obstinateFirmly refusing to yield
- headstrongStubbornly self-willed
- willfulIntentionally unyielding
unyielding · recalcitrant · intractable · obdurate · uncooperative · noncompliant · contrary · refractory · contumacious · incorrigible
insurgent
One who revolts
- mutinousDisposed to revolt
- defiantOpenly resisting control
- insubordinateDefying rightful authority
seditious · revolutionary · subversive · dissident · resistant · disobedient · recalcitrant · renegade · insurrectionary · anarchist
feral
Wild after domestication
uncivilized · barbaric · lawless · frontier · untameable · animalistic · raw · unbroken · undomesticated · ferocious
anarchy
Disorder from absent authority
- turmoilViolent disturbance or confusion
- pandemoniumState of utter confusion
- bedlamState of wild disorder
mayhem · havoc · tumult · disorder · upheaval · riot · frenzy · unrest · lawlessness · disarray
unconquerable
Impossible to defeat
- invincibleIncapable of being defeated
- irrepressibleUnable to be restrained
- unbreakableImpossible to damage
unyielding · unquenchable · undefeatable · insurmountable · relentless · fierce · inextinguishable
- misbehaviormisbehave, misbehavior, mischief, misconduct, naughty
- out of controlwild, chaotic, unruly, unchecked, runaway
- rebellionrevolt, rebel, mutiny, insurgency, insurrection
ungovernablegovernable
Able to be ruled
controllable · manageable · tractable · tameable · rulable
ungovernableobedient
Following commands willingly
docile · compliant · submissive · biddable · tractable
ungovernableorderly
Arranged with care
ruly · disciplined · regulated · structured · organized