Uncontrollable

How to spell uncontrollable

14 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce uncontrollable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does uncontrollable mean?

1. adjectiveImpossible to restrain, manage, or keep in check.

Uncontrollable in a sentence

• The toddler had an uncontrollable fit of giggles during dinner.

• Firefighters battled an uncontrollable blaze that spread across the warehouse.

Where does uncontrollable come from?

Language of origin: French

This adjective is built on the verb 'control', which English took from Anglo-Norman French 'contreroller', meaning to check accounts against a duplicate register. That word in turn came from the Medieval Latin 'contrarotulus', literally a 'counter-roll', the second copy of a scroll kept so that figures could be verified against each other. From the idea of checking and verifying, 'control' broadened to mean exercising restraint or command over something. The negative prefix 'un-' (meaning 'not') and the suffix '-able' (meaning 'able to be') were then added to form 'uncontrollable', describing something that cannot be restrained or commanded. The common spelling trap lies in the doubled 'l': 'control' ends in a single 'l', but when '-able' is attached the stressed final syllable doubles it to 'controll-', giving 'uncontrollable'.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• control (from Latin contra-rotulus, a counter-roll or check)
• -able (able to be)