unruliness

noun

Definition of unrulinessnext
as in rebellion
refusal to obey frustrated by the boys' unruliness, the lifeguard asked them to leave the pool

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unruliness Conservative pundits may have wanted Anne to be a model orphan, but that desire just threw her unruliness into sharper relief. — Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026 Katseye doesn’t seem to get in as much trouble as K-pop idols have in the past for swearing; a patina of unruliness has endeared the group to its followers. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026 In 2024, Buffett offered prescient reflections on the unruliness of the market, long before the prediction markets began to sway Wall Street. — Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026 In Olga Tokarczuk’s work, knowing how to pick mushrooms—organisms open to unruliness and interconnection and resistant to easy labeling—is a sign of good character. — Christopher Tayler, The New York Review of Books, 2 Oct. 2025 Any unruliness was saved for the sketches. — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025 Bateman commits to his character’s wiry unruliness and makes Vince into a self-destructive twit, which is probably by intent. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unruliness
  1. rebellion
  2. defiance
  3. rebelliousness
  4. willfulness
  5. disrespect
Noun
  • The creators are describing the title as Inglourious Bastards, Quentin Tarantino’s down in the dirt revisionist World War Two movie, meets V for Vendetta, Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s anti-fascist British tale of rebellion.
    — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
  • To pair the piece with Celine’s more tailored pieces like the trousers and blouse added a tonal contrast that still executed on its luxury aesthetic, though with a touch of rebellion.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of rebellion
Noun
  • The widespread use of arrests, tear gas and riot-control weapons against teenagers is fueling defiance and angering some parents and teachers.
    — NICOLAS GARRIGA, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The plotters could not stop the news of Yeltsin’s defiance from spreading, and the coup collapsed within three days.
    — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of defiance
Noun
  • The stigma helped imprint a stamp of rebelliousness on the brand which lives on today, says Carpenter, even as Burton has become a fixture on resort slopes across the world and within the annals of Olympian history.
    — Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Whether writing five decades ago or today, the genre’s most insightful commentators have always observed how punk fuses rebelliousness with commodification, capitalism with resistance.
    — Kyle Devine, Longreads, 14 July 2026
Definition of rebelliousness
Noun
  • From grandmother to grandchild, these three sets of two sisters were powerful characters possessed with passion, willfulness, bravery, and devotion to each other.
    — Griffin Dunne, Vanity Fair, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Those leaders who ignore or flout the law aren’t merely unethical but fatally arrogant, putting their childish willfulness over the wisdom of generations.
    — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Definition of willfulness
Noun
  • Nathan is offended and starts going on his usual rant about not tolerating disrespect toward his family.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026
  • What readers are saying The comments express frustration and disappointment over the littering and disrespect shown by visitors to national parks, particularly Yellowstone.
    — Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of disrespect

Browse Nearby Words

unruled
unruliness
unruly
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Cite this Entry

“Unruliness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unruliness. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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