unruly

UK: /ʌnˈruːli/ US: /ʌnˈruli/ ,(un ro̅o̅′lē)

Inflections of 'unruly' (adj):

unrulier

adj comparative

unruliest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

un•ru•ly /ʌnˈruli/   adj., -li•er, -li•est. 

1. not cooperative or well-behaved;
   unmanageable;
   disorderly:
   an unruly gang of troublemakers.

un•ru•li•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

un•ru•ly  (un ro̅o̅′lē), adj., -li•er, -li•est. 

1. not submissive or conforming to rule;
   ungovernable;
   turbulent;
   intractable;
   refractory;
   lawless:
   an unruly class; an unruly wilderness.

• 1350–1400; Middle English unruely, equivalent. to un- un-¹ + ruly, ruely governable, controllable; see rule, -y¹

un•ru′li•ness, n. 
Synonyms

disobedient, unmanageable, uncontrollable, stubborn, disorderly, riotous. Unruly, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory describe persons or things that resist management or control. Unruly suggests persistently disorderly behavior or character in persons or things:
an unruly child, peevish and willful; wild, unruly hair.
Intractable suggests in persons a determined resistance to all attempts to guide or direct them, in things a refusal to respond to attempts to shape, improve, or modify them:
an intractable social rebel; a seemingly intractable problem in logistics.
recalcitrant and refractory imply not only a lack of submissiveness but also an open, often violent, rebellion against authority or direction. Recalcitrant, the stronger of the two terms, suggests a stubborn and absolute noncompliance:
a recalcitrant person, openly contemptuous of all authority.
Refractory implies active, mulish disobedience, but leaves open the possibility of eventual compliance:
refractory students, resisting efforts to interest them in their studies.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

unruly / ʌnˈruːlɪ/ adjective ( -lier, -liest)

1. disposed to disobedience or indiscipline

unˈruliness, unˈruliment noun