ungovernable
adjective
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Definition of ungovernable
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Synonyms & Antonyms for ungovernable
Synonyms
balky, contrary, contumacious, defiant, disobedient, froward, incompliant, insubordinate, intractable, obstreperous, rebel, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, refractory, restive, unruly, untoward, wayward, willful (or wilful)
Antonyms
amenable, biddable, compliant, conformable, docile, obedient, ruly, submissive, tractable
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Examples of ungovernable in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There are vast, ungovernable stretches of land in those two countries where terrorist cells and violent insurgencies fester. — Kaj Larsen, National Review, "The U.S. Must Remain in Africa’s Fight against Boko Haram," 21 Aug. 2019 As Venezuela becomes more ungovernable, with sanctions having cut off much of its income, some argue, the fatigue afflicting many Maduro opponents has also begun affecting the regime. — Josh Dawsey, Washington Post, "With Maduro entrenched in Venezuela, Trump loses patience and interest in issue, officials say," 19 June 2019 President Trump, a pathological liar with a history of denigrating Puerto Rico, has been using the crisis to further his claim that the island is irredeemably corrupt and ungovernable. — Time, "This is Puerto Rico's Moment for Real Change," 25 July 2019 What was worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. — Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, "Pavlik Morozov Is the Patron Saint of Cancel Culture," 2 July 2019 How much harder to make the case in the Balkans: Kosovo and Serbia are at daggers drawn, and Bosnia is an ungovernable mess. — The Economist, "The EU must keep its promise to North Macedonia," 13 June 2019 The first is that politics becomes more extreme and polarized following a crisis; the second is that countries become more ungovernable as violence, protests and populist revolts overshadow the rule of law. — Amanda Foreman, WSJ, "The High Cost of Financial Panics," 10 Jan. 2019 So, more broadly, does the future of the narrative of men’s ungovernable desires. — Anna North, Vox, "Les Moonves and the myth of uncontrollable male desire," 12 Sep. 2018 Their enmity is total, and the country is becoming ungovernable. — David Roberts, Vox, "The caravan “invasion” and America’s epistemic crisis," 2 Nov. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ungovernable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for ungovernable
ungovernable
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of ungovernable
See the full definition for ungovernable in the English Language Learners Dictionary