unruly implies lack of discipline or incapacity for discipline and often connotes waywardness or turbulence of behavior.
unruly children
ungovernable implies either an escape from control or guidance or a state of being unsubdued and incapable of controlling oneself or being controlled by others.
ungovernable rage
intractable suggests stubborn resistance to guidance or control.
intractable opponents of the hazardous-waste dump
refractory stresses resistance to attempts to manage or to mold.
special schools for refractory children
recalcitrant suggests determined resistance to or defiance of authority.
acts of sabotage by a recalcitrant populace
willful implies an obstinate determination to have one's own way.
a willful disregard for the rights of others
headstrong suggests self-will impatient of restraint, advice, or suggestion.
a headstrong young cavalry officer
Example Sentences
The people there seemed almost ungovernable. a handful of ungovernable students are disrupting the learning environment for everyone else
Recent Examples on the WebExtremist violence was already on the rise under President Roch Marc Kaboré, rendering much of the countryside ungovernable. Borso Tall, Washington Post, 16 June 2022 Some of this is in consequence of Johnson’s own incurable temperament and ungovernable appetites. Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New Republic, 11 July 2022 Women will become ungovernable as these unjust laws begin to be the law of the land in states across the country. Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 4 May 2022 The old nostrum that France is ungovernable may be tested again.New York Times, 23 Apr. 2022 During his tenure, militants linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have upended life in the nation of 21 million, rendering much of the countryside ungovernable and driving at least 1.4 million people from their homes.Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2022 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is pledging to make the chamber all but ungovernable if the rules change gambit succeeds. Stephen Collinson, CNN, 12 Jan. 2022 So listen: Right now your space, your beautiful space, your ungovernable American ether, is going bloody haywire. James Parker, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2021 At their most cynical, sanctions are a deliberate attempt to trigger an ungovernable humanitarian crisis, which will undermine Taliban authority. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 31 Aug. 2021 See More