incontrollable

adjective

ˌin-kən-ˈtrō-lə-bəl How to pronounce incontrollable (audio)
Definition of incontrollablenext
as in uncontrollable
given to resisting control or discipline by others police have vowed to crack down on the speeding, racing, and other driving misdeeds being committed by the town's incontrollable teenagers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for incontrollable
  1. uncontrollable
  2. stubborn
  3. unmanageable
  4. ungovernable
  5. intractable
  6. rebellious
  7. recalcitrant
  8. refractory
Adjective
  • When energy is left stranded in a battery that becomes submerged in salt water, that can lead to a short circuit and an uncontrollable increase in temperature.
    — Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Elementary school students may have tantrums, be clingy, have toileting accidents, engage in uncontrollable crying or become less talkative as a result of changes in schools, homes and caregivers.
    — Nikki R Wooten, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of uncontrollable
Adjective
  • The Federal Reserve is also hiking rates again to rein in stubborn inflation.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Pair that with five years of stubborn inflation, and workers are losing even more ground.
    — Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of stubborn
Adjective
  • If your debt is unmanageable, check with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling to see if a debt management plan might help.
    — Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Without the right architecture, cloud and connectivity costs could become unmanageable, limiting the benefits of the AI era.
    — David Kelly, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of unmanageable
Adjective
  • From there, the NCAA accelerated its campaign to convince Congress that college sports would be ungovernable and unsustainable without federal liability protections.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026
  • But obviously the Senate has been a little ungovernable on this issue and a few others.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of ungovernable
Adjective
  • For Che, wrestling with all sides of seemingly intractable issues—like figuring out how to solve the gun violence epidemic in our country—is what generates the comedy.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026
  • In Massachusetts and Maine, that approval is also contingent on the federal government finding a long-term solution to the seemingly intractable problem of storing radioactive nuclear waste.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of intractable
Adjective
  • The shoes appeared similar to the popular DSquared 2 Riri heeled sandals, which are also a sleek, seductive and rebellious style with towering heels and straps that wrap around the foot and ankle with super-thin leather ties.
    — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Suzanne’s kind of rebellious temperament brought a lucidity to that character.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebellious
Adjective
  • Brian is a gee-whiz irritant, with a reckless attachment to the family’s conveniently recalcitrant dog and a knack for making dangerous situations worse.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • In their recalcitrant way, the balance tips more toward the sentimental than the cynical.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 24 July 2026
Definition of recalcitrant
Adjective
  • However, many current refractory alloys are difficult or impossible to manufacture reliably using these techniques.
    — Vitor Rielli, The Conversation, 4 Mar. 2026
  • These warm hundreds of tonnes of refractory bricks to temperatures up to 1,500 °C.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Oct. 2025
Definition of refractory
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.

Browse Nearby Words

in contrast (to)
incontrollable
incontrovertible
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Incontrollable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incontrollable. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All