unruly
/ʌnˈɹuːli/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.08 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Example Sentences
- "The police gathered to contain the unruly mob."
- "Unruly boys who will not grow up / Must be taken in hand / Unruly girls who will not settle down / They must be taken in hand"
- "Richard DeLongpre: Are you okay, my boy angel? Allen Gregory DeLongpre: I have a broken heart. And undergarments filled with my own unruly waste."
- "The bar had two entrances, one on Barrow and another via Bedford, and “86” referred to the address of the door from which intoxicated or unruly guests would be ejected."
Etymology
From Middle English unruly (“unquiet, restless”), equivalent to un- + rule + -ly (compare Middle English ruly, reuli (“subject to a religious rule, regular”)), but also representing a modified continuation of earlier Middle English unrouly, unroly (“unquiet, restless”), equivalent to un- + roolie. The latter is perhaps from or influenced by Old Norse *úróligr, related to Danish urolig (“restless”), Swedish orolig (“restless”), Icelandic órólegur (“agitated”). Compare also Middle English unroo, unro (“unrest”). More at roo.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: unruly, unrouly, *úróligr