Unruly

How to spell unruly

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce unruly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unruly mean?

1. adjectiveDifficult to control, discipline, or keep in order.

Unruly in a sentence

• The substitute teacher struggled with an unruly class all afternoon.

• A few unruly fans were escorted out of the stadium before the match resumed.

Where does unruly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on the now-obsolete adjective 'ruly', which meant orderly or amenable to discipline and was formed from the noun 'rule' plus the adjective ending '-y'. 'Rule' itself came into English through Old French 'reule' from the Latin 'regula', meaning a straight stick, a ruler, or by extension a standard or principle for behaviour. By the late 1300s English speakers attached the negative prefix 'un-', meaning 'not', to produce 'unruly' for a person or thing that would not submit to rule or restraint. The original positive form 'ruly' eventually fell out of everyday use, leaving 'unruly' stranded as a negative without its partner, which is a common fate in English. A useful spelling cue is that the word is simply 'un' plus 'ruly', so it keeps the single 'l' and the plain '-y' ending rather than gaining an extra 'e' or 'ey'.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• ruly (amenable to rule, from rule
• -y)